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The speed of light in a vacuum is 299 792 458 meters per second or 983,571,056.43045 feet per second or 186,282.397 miles per second or 670,616,629.2 miles per hour.

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Q: What is the exact value of the speed of light in a vacuum?
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Is it true that the speed of light in vacuum is the same value regardless of wavelength?

Yes. No experimental evidence has ever been found that would suggest that any wavelength of light travels at a different speed than any other. We speak, of course, only about electromagnetic radiation in a vacuum.


How fast does sun light travel per meter per second?

The speed of light in vacuum, usually denoted by c, is a universal physical constant important in many areas of physics. Its value is 299,792,458 metres per second, a figure that is exact since the length of the metre is defined from this constant and the international standard for time.[1] In imperial units this speed is approximately 186,282 miles per second.


How velocity of light is calculated?

The speed of light can be both calculated and measured. Light waves are formed by mutually interacting orthogonal electric and magnetic fields. Using properties of these electric and magnetic fields, you can arrange the equations of physics into a partial differential equation, called the "wave equation". This equation contains a constant in it, which is the wave-speed of light. It's value is found from other physical constants, and is about 3 106 km/sec. This value was measured in a vacuum and found to be within excellent agreement. James Clerk Maxwell first theoretically found the speed of light from what is now called the Maxwell equations.


What does constant mean in science terms?

It means the same as in everyday use. It means unchanging, unvarying. Fixed. So for example the speed of light in a vacuum is called a universal constant because it is a fixed value. It is the opposite of a variable (something that changes).


Why is light speed always constant?

A great question. First--It isn't always constant. Light can travel slower than "c" ("the speed of light"). In a perfect vacuum light travels at "c". It's slower in glass, air, water, etc., light can even stop! But "c" is the upper speed limit. Second--Not only light but ANY disturbance in the universe has a speed limit of "c". Even the influence of gravity travels at the speed of light. Third--Einstein didn't just wake up one day with a good idea. The constancy of the speed of light (and relativity in general) explained many curious observations that had been made, and solved many physics problems. Fourth--There have been competing theories that allow a variable "c" but all the experiments indicate that it is indeed a constant value.

Related questions

What the value of the index of refraction of a medium?

It's the speed of light in vacuum divided by the speed of light in that medium.


What is the value of the speed of gamma radiations in air or vacuum?

The speed of gamma radiation in air or vacuum is approximately the speed of light, which is about 299,792,458 meters per second.


What is the value of c in a vacuum?

Speed of light is constant which is 3*10^8m/s.


How do you kmow the speed of an electromagnetic wave in a vacuum?

The speed of an electromagnetic wave in a vacuum is a fundamental constant of nature, denoted by the symbol 'c'. The value of the speed of light in a vacuum is approximately 299,792,458 meters per second. This value is derived from the properties of free space and the relationship between electric and magnetic fields in vacuum.


What is the value of c in a vacuum Give the numerical value as well as the definition?

C represents the speed of light. In a vacuum it is 299,792,458 meters per second. C is also the maximum speed at which anything in the universe can travel.


What is the value of index or refraction of a medium?

The index of refraction of a medium is a measure of how much light slows down when it travels through that medium compared to a vacuum. It is a unitless quantity that dictates the bending of light as it enters the medium. The higher the index of refraction, the more the light is slowed down.


What does The International Committee on Weights and Measures designates the speed of light as?

The International Committee on Weights and Measures designates the speed of light as a constant value of 299,792,458 meters per second in a vacuum.


Why index of refraction has no units?

The index of refraction is a dimensionless quantity representing how much light bends as it passes through a medium compared to a vacuum. It is a ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in the medium, so the units cancel out, leaving a unitless value.


How do you know the speed of an electromagnetic wave in a vacuum?

The speed of electromagnetic waves in a vacuum is the same as the speed of light (which is, in itself an electromagnetic wave). It can be measured by finding the frequency and wavelength of two different waves, and then by that correlation, the speed of the waveform.


Can the speed of light be ligislated?

Sort of. The meter is currently defined to be exactly the distance that light, in a vacuum, travels in 1 / 299,792,458 of a second. The result of this is that the speed of light is DEFINED to be a certain value (299,792,458 meters / second); the meter is derived from the speed of light. Of course, you can't legislate to make the speed of light in a vacuum faster or slower; or rather, if you do, light won't care about such legislation. The legislation only affects the numeric values assigned to such a speed.


What transperent objects can slow the speed of light?

Anything that is transparent i.e. allows light to pass through, can slow the speed of light. The speed of light C is measured in a vacuum at 2.98 x 108 ms-1, if light is able to pass through any object that is not a vacuum e.g. water, this value will be less as the medium is more dense than a vacuum. Light is made up of particles called Photons, which will collide with the particles that make up any medium, slowing them down. Therefore, the only medium in which light can travel at it's maximum speed is in a vacuum, as by definition a vacuum is empty space and there will be no collisions.


What is the value of c in vacuum?

The speed of light in vacuum, denoted by 'c', is approximately 299,792,458 meters per second.