Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: stevegraham on 16/05/2021 16:17:36

Title: Calculating time it takes for light to travel
Post by: stevegraham on 16/05/2021 16:17:36

If im calculating the time it takes for reflected sunlight to travel from an object 410 km away and with the speed of light being 3.0 x 10 to the power of 8, do I use the equation t=d/v?

Title: Re: Calculating time it takes for light to travel
Post by: Kryptid on 16/05/2021 17:48:45

Yes, but make sure you keep the units consistent. If you are measuring the speed of light in meters per second, then the distance needs to be in meters (not kilometers).

t = d/v
t = (410,000 meters)/(300,000,000 meters per second)
t = 0.001367 seconds