your traveling when you measure the speed, for instance if i was in a ship traveling 100,000 miles per second, would light still measure 186,000 miles per second even though i am traveling that fast. and i know its not possible to travel that fast this is a thearetical question
2007-02-21 04:01:16 · 6 answers · asked by sean R 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Yeah, thats true
& " Speed of light is constant " was a MAIN procedure in proving the relativity
Many expriments proved that the speed of light is the same for ALL OBSERVERS, one of these expriments was called " Michelson-Morloy expriment "
That expriment was the most famous failure expriment in the history of science
- Why failure ??
Becouse Michelson & Morloy was trying to prove that the speed of light can be changed from one medium to another & from one observer to another
- Why famous ??
Becouse it set the stage for Einestien's theory of special relativity which Michelson himself "the scientist that did the expriment" was rejecting to accept
For more information about Michelson-Morloy expriment, check that link ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelson-Morley_experiment )
2007-02-21 07:03:42 · answer #1 · answered by Kevin 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, regardless of how fast you are traveling the speed of light in a vacuum is always 186,000 miles per second (mps). While we can't travel a speeds of 100,000 mps, we can accelerate particles to speeds very close to the speed of light (99.999%). And through experiments we can infer that even at those speeds the particles still observe the speed of light to be 186,000 mps.
2007-02-21 12:08:02 · answer #2 · answered by sparrowhawk 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes.
If you are running towards me at 1/2 the speed of light, and shining a flashlight at me. I will measure the speed of light to be 3x10^8m/s, regardless of how fast you are moving relative to me.
What changes, however, is the frequency of the light which gets 'doppler' shifted.
2007-02-21 12:05:50 · answer #3 · answered by Morey000 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually its 186,282.397 miles per second, or 670,616,629.384 miles per hour, or almost one foot per nanosecond.
And it's not just light, its the entire electro-magetic spectrum that radiates at this speed.
2007-02-21 13:56:13 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would think it is an assumption,. I cant see how it could be measured for absolute proof
2007-02-21 12:15:10 · answer #5 · answered by bonnie-bee 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it is a theoretical question then the answer would be a theoretical one.
2007-02-21 12:09:16 · answer #6 · answered by Student 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋