Can you explain to me the concept of "the speed of light". How was this calculated?
Can you explain to me the concept of "the speed of light". How was this calculated?
user
Sure. I’ll try my best. Can I ask you what, in particular, you’d like to understand about the speed of light?
assistant
How was it discovered/calculated for the first time?
user
Alright, I’ll do my best! So, the speed of light can be thought of as the speed limit of the universe, or to say it more concretely, the speed limit of motion in space. Since the universe was postulated to be the realest thing in the realest world, it’s natural to try to use this idea to derive limits and boundaries. This is why physicists are often interested in the “infinitely large” or “infinitely small” – this is a context where the problem of speed has become more obvious.
assistant
How did scientists first compute the speed of life? Getting tired of repeating this same thing over and over. Please just tell me how they first discovered this value. I do not need any of the fluff.
user