The Speed of Light Mystery

On Tuesday, September 16th This blog will explain the mystery of the speed of light.

Our current understanding of the speed of light is that it is fixed at 186,000 miles per second. A classic example, demonstrating that the speed of light is fixed, compares a beam of light with a ball. If a person who is standing on the side of a road throws a ball it will travel at a certain speed called "x." If that same person throws the same ball from a car moving at 30 miles an hour, then the ball will travel at 30 miles an hour plus x. This means that the speed of the car is added to the speed that the person throws the ball to get the total speed.

However, the mystery of the speed of light is seen when the same person with a flashlight, performing the same experiment, sees the speed of light traveling at the same speed, regardless of the speed of the car. The person standing still, and a person in a car traveling at 30 mph who both turn on a flashlight at the same time, will see the light traveling at the same speed. In other words the speed of the car does not add any speed to a beam of light.

The mystery of why the car does not add any speed to a beam of light will be explained on September 16th.