Answer 2:
Suppose Ismael is on earth and Mariela is on
Mars. Mariela has a very bright light bulb on Mars.
Mariela turns on the light bulb. How long does
it take for Ismael to see the light turn
on?
MARS..............................................................EARTH Mariela............................................................Ismael light
bulb
(Find out the distance between Earth
and Mars. The speed of light is 300,000
kilometers per second.)
At the same time
Brian is on earth and Janet is on Mars. Janet
has a battery; Brian has a light bulb.
Suppose a very long pair of wires goes from
the + side of the battery on Mars all the way to
the light bulb on Earth and back to the Janet's
hand on Mars. She connects the wire to the side
of the battery. How long does it take before
Brian sees the light bulb turn
on?
MARS............................................................EARTH Janet................................................................Brian battery
+ --------------------------------------light
battery -
--------------------------------------bulb
Your question is: Does it take less time for
Ismael to see the light, or for Brian to see the
light?
One of the principles of physics
is that NOTHING goes faster than the speed of
light in space.
Therefore it is impossible
for Brian to see the light before
Ismael. (Electricity is NOT faster than
Light.)
However, is it possible for Ismael
to see the light at the same time as Ismael? (In
otherwords, Is Electricty AS FAST as Light?)
The answer: ALMOST but NOT QUITE. It is
impossible for him to see it at a different time
!" Just how
fast the Electricity goes depends on the shape of
the two wires going from Mars to
Earth.
WHY?
Another principle of
physics is that Light and Electricity are the
SAME THING. Electricity is just Light guided
along wires. (Sort of.)
But this "guiding"
of light along the wires makes it slow down
little. |