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The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted c, is a universal physical constant that is exactly equal to 299,792,458 metres per second (approximately 300,000 kilometres per second; 186,000 miles per second; 671 million miles per hour).
The rotational speed of the mirror could not be sufficiently accurately measured to determine the absolute speeds of light in water or air. With a rotational speed of 600-800 revolutions per second, the displacement was 0.2 to 0.3 mm. [5]: 128–129 Guided by similar motivations as his former partner, Foucault in 1850 was more interested in ...
[S 5]: 33 The overall speed of a beam of light should be a simple additive sum of its speed through the water plus the speed of the water. That is, if n is the index of refraction of water, so that c/n is the speed of light in stationary water, then the predicted speed of light w in one arm would be [S 2]: 40
< 1 mph < 1 km/h 0–0.2 m/s: 0 ft 0 m Sea like a mirror Smoke rises vertically 1 Light air 1–3 knots 1–3 mph 1–5 km/h 0.3–1.5 m/s 0–1 ft 0–0.3 m Ripples with appearance of scales are formed, without foam crests Direction shown by smoke drift but not by wind vanes 2 Light breeze 4–6 knots 4–7 mph 6–11 km/h 1.6–3.3 m/s
At 3 times the speed it was again eclipsed. [3] [4] Given the rotational speed of the wheel and the distance between the wheel and the mirror, Fizeau was able to calculate a value of 2 × 8633m × 720 × 25.2/s = 313,274,304 m/s for the speed of light. Fizeau's value for the speed of light was 4.5% too high. [5] The correct value is 299,792,458 ...
At 0 °C (32 °F), the speed of sound in dry air (sea level 14.7 psi) is about 331 m/s (1,086 ft/s; 1,192 km/h; 740 mph; 643 kn). [1] The speed of sound in an ideal gas depends only on its temperature and composition. The speed has a weak dependence on frequency and pressure in dry air, deviating slightly from ideal behavior.
The two-way speed of light is the average speed of light from one point, such as a source, to a mirror and back again. Because the light starts and finishes in the same place, only one clock is needed to measure the total time; thus, this speed can be experimentally determined independently of any clock synchronization scheme.
Partial aether-dragging would thwart attempts to measure any first order change in the speed of light. As pointed out by Maxwell (1878), only experimental arrangements capable of measuring second order effects would have any hope of detecting aether drift, i.e., effects proportional to v 2 /c 2.