Chapter 5, Problem 1CC

To determine

The reason that it was difficult to measure the speed of light historically.

Answer to Problem 1CC

Solution:

The speed of the light was so high that the distance travelled and time taken, were not easy to measure with accuracy.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

Speed is basically related to distance and time by the following relation:

$\text{speed}=\frac{\text{distance}}{\text{time}}$

The speed of light is $3\times {10}^8\text{ m/s}$.

Explanation:

To measure the speed of any particle or substance, it is necessary to measure the travelled distance and time required to travel this distance. Now, as the speed is very high, that is, $3\times {10}^8\text{ m/s}$, the distance travelled by the light in a very small-time span is also very large which was tough to measure and even a slight change in the measurement of time will affect the speed to a large extent. Therefore, it was tough to measure the speed of light historically.

Conclusion:

The speed of the light is huge because of which it was tough to measure.