The Fastest Thing Known to Man

186,000 miles per second.  Wrap your brain around that figure for a moment: Can you imagine traveling at 186,000 miles per second?

The speed of light is a fascinating phenomenon.  Not only is it the fastest thing we can encounter in nature, it’s also one of the most important “constants.”  Remember E=mc²?  “C” represents the speed of light, and that value never changes from 186,000.  Therefore, the speed of light helps determine exactly how much energy (E) is created from a certain amount of mass (m).

It takes about 8.3 minutes for light to travel from the sun to Earth, about 1.2 seconds to get from the moon to Earth and about 100 millionth of one second to get from your floor lamp to the other side of your room.

Emily Widle

Emily graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with a degree in journalism. She enjoys scouring the news to report on the latest in the lighting industry as well as bringing valuable remodeling tips and exemplar home projects to light.

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