The speed of light

The Forces of Nature by Kelland Terry, Ph.D.

The speed of light has been studied by a number of individuals from various countries around the world for more than 300 years. In the 1600s, Galileo attempted to determine its velocity by using two lanterns separated by a great distance. He concluded that the speed of light was either instantaneous or had great velocity. Various other methods have been used since that time including observations of Jupiter’s moons, aberration of star light, toothed wheels, rotating mirrors, etc. Values obtained ranged from 214,000,000 meters per second to 315,000,000 meters per second.

In 1862, a Frenchman by the name of Foucault used rotating mirrors to estimate its speed at 298,000,000 m/s. A few years later, James Clerk Maxwell discovered that the velocity of light could be calculated using its magnetic and electric properties. This method arrives at 299,781,000 m/s for the speed of light. This is only an estimate because the electric property used in the equation is determined by experimentation.

At the present time, the velocity of light is determined by using a laser light of known frequency and wavelength. This allows the speed of light to be calculated with great accuracy.

Photon speed = wavelength x frequency = 299,792,459.0 meters per second plus or minus just 0.0008 meters per second.

I believe it is more than mere coincidence that the remainder is zero. This will become clear in future blogs.

In the next blog, I will discuss how Maxwell was able to calculate the speed of light using its magnetic and electric properties. Till then be safe and in good health. Kelland—www.vestheory.com