Prompt Cast
The Discovery and Impact of the Speed of Light
TLDR The Danish astronomer Ole Romer proved in 1676 that light has a finite speed through observations of the moons of Jupiter, leading to the realization that light does not change its speed relative to an observer. The speed of light is constant regardless of the observer's position or velocity, and it has significant implications for space travel, communication delays, and high-frequency stock trading.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Light is the fastest thing in the universe, and it took several centuries for humans to determine its speed.
01:55
Light was believed to be instantaneous for centuries until the Danish astronomer Ole Romer proved in 1676 that it has a finite speed through observations of the moons of Jupiter.
03:35
The Danish astronomer Ole Romer proved that light has a finite speed through observations of the moons of Jupiter, leading to the realization that light does not change its speed relative to an observer.
05:10
The speed of light is constant regardless of the observer's position or velocity, and it is impossible for anything with mass to travel at the speed of light.
06:51
The speed of light needs to be taken into consideration in space travel, as the distances involved can cause delays in communication, such as the slight pause experienced during conversations with Apollo astronauts on the Moon, and the significant delays in sending radio signals to Mars.
08:30
The speed of light causes delays in communication in space travel and affects the ability to see distant objects, as well as impacting high-frequency stock trading.
10:06
Light can travel slower in mediums other than a vacuum, such as fiber optic cables, but in the next generation of SpaceX's Starlink satellites, data can be routed between satellites using lasers, allowing for lower latency across long distances compared to fiber optic cables.
