What is the Speed of Light?

By Matthew Williams September 1, 2016
What is the Speed of Light?

Speed of Light (c):

History of Study:

The next great breakthrough came during the early 20th century/ In his 1905 paper, titled "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies", Albert Einstein asserted that the speed of light in a vacuum, measured by a non-accelerating observer, is the same in all inertial reference frames and independent of the motion of the source or observer.

Role in Modern Astrophysics:

  • Wikipedia - Speed of Light

  • The Physics of the Universe - Speed of Light and the Principle of Relativity

  • NASA - What is the Speed of Light?

  • Galileo and Einstein - The Speed of Light

    • Matthew Williams

    Matthew Williams

    Matt Williams is a space journalist, science communicator, and author with several published titles and studies. His work is featured in The Ross 248 Project and Interstellar Travel edited by NASA alumni Les Johnson and Ken Roy. He also hosts the podcast series Stories from Space at ITSP Magazine. He lives in beautiful British Columbia with his wife and family. For more information, check out his website.