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speed of light
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Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images & Videos
relativistic velocity combination
invariance of the speed of light length contraction and time dilation Figure 6: Fizeau's method for measuring the velocity of light. Figure 7: Michelson's Mount Wilson experiment, 1927.
Understand refraction and why the speed of light changes when it travels through glass
relativistic mass
What would traveling at light speed really look like?
See how to break the “cosmic speed limit” of light by using a laser
Quizzes
Italian physicist Guglielmo Marconi at work in the wireless room of his yacht Electra, c. 1920.
All About Physics Quiz
Read Next
July, 2006, Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery STS-121. See attached for full caption information.
Will Light-Speed Space Travel Ever Be Possible?
Highway Night Traffic Portland, drive, driving, car, automobile.
What's the Difference Between Speed and Velocity?
Galaxy clusters like Abell 2744 can act as a natural cosmic lens, magnifying light from more distant, background objects through gravity. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope may be able to detect light from the first stars in the universe if they are gravitationally lensed by such clusters. (astronomy, space exploration, galaxies)
How Fast Is the Universe Expanding?
Albert Einstein.
Celebrating the Birth of a Genius
Planet Jupiter with its moon Io at left, photographed by the Cassini orbiter during the Cassini-Huygens mission, 2000. spacecraft
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An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.
11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
Confucius statue at a Confucian Temple in Shanghai, China. Confucianism religion
What is the Difference Between Daoism and Confucianism?
Rural Irish landscape, Sligo, Ireland.
Why Is Ireland Two Countries?
Plato (left) and Aristotle, detail from School of Athens, fresco by Raphael, 1508-11; in the Stanza della Segnatura, the Vatican. Plato points to the heavens and the realm of Forms, Aristotle to the earth and the realm of things.
Plato and Aristotle: How Do They Differ?
Thanksgiving Celebration Traditional Dinner Setting Food Concept
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Santa Claus flying in his sleigh, christmas, reindeer
Was Santa Claus a Real Person?
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.
10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci

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Videos

relativistic velocity combination
If you race at a beam of light, why doesn't the light approach you faster than the...
Video: © World Science Festival (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Understand refraction and why the speed of light changes when it travels through glass
Learn about refraction and how the speed of light changes in glass.
Video: © MinutePhysics (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
relativistic mass
Why is the speed of light the fastest possible speed? Brian Greene tells a simple...
Video: © World Science Festival (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
What would traveling at light speed really look like?
Scientists simulating travel at the speed of light.
Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
See how to break the “cosmic speed limit” of light by using a laser
Learn how the speed of light can technically be exceeded with a laser.
Video: © MinutePhysics (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Images

invariance of the speed of light
Arrows shot from a moving train (A) and from a stationary location (B)...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
length contraction and time dilation
As an object approaches the speed of light, an observer sees the object become shorter...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Figure 6: Fizeau's method for measuring the velocity of light.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Figure 7: Michelson's Mount Wilson experiment, 1927.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
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