Posted by admin in Astronomy Activities for Kids | 26 Comments
Astronomy Simplified (#3): Speed of Light Experiment
You don’t trust others? You don’t have to. Here’s a cool experiment you can do on your own to measure the speed of light. I am going to try and keep this up and do some more fun experiments. If you have ideas, feel free to message me! Please visit http://www.smarterthanthat.com/ (because we really are smarter than that if we just think about things) – to see more information, extra explanations and just fun. If you like it, please digg the blog entry! I will probably post more experiment videos, so if you want to see more, show your support by participating in the blog and diggin’ it. 
For any experiment ideas or questions, msg me.
== RESOURCES: ==
Speed of light: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_light
http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/waves_particles/lightspeed_evidence.html
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/SpeedOfLight/measure_c.html http://galileoandeinstein.physics.virginia.edu/lectures/spedlite.html
Electromagnetic Waves: http://science.hq.nasa.gov/kids/imagers/ems/waves3.html http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/waves_particles/index.html
Original idea (You can also find more information of how to conduct this experiment yourselves): http://www.null-hypothesis.co.uk/science//item/measure_speed_light_microwave_chocolate Similar Experiment: http://www.physics.umd.edu/icpe/newsletters/n34/marshmal.htm Remember: True science is about experimentation and observation. If you use your brain to do some thinking, the world is at your feet! Enjoy! ~moo
Duration : 0:7:32
[youtube iPZ_cRv9P8Y]
Powered by WordPressDirect.com
Yeah, it’s not …
) but it works, if you put the chocolate in a single-file row. It’s not a perfect number, but it’s good enough for a home experiment 
Yeah, it’s not perfect at all, and I did have one more trial that failed (my chocolate bar exploded in the microwave… messy..
Isn’t the speed of …
Isn’t the speed of light in a vacuum an average?
I heard when scientists were calculating it they shot 2 lazers down the legs of an vacuum “L” and reflected it back into polarized glass.
Their results were inconsistent so they averaged them.
Others theorize that this was because the speed of light doesn’t account for the ambient Zeropoint Energyfield.
They go on to say that you can convert it into useable energy!
Fight Terrorism, DEVELOP Zeropoint Energy and RELEASE THE TESLA PATENTS!
If speed is energy …
If speed is energy can it be amplified?
Does gravity effect the speed of light?
What about radiation and magnetic fields, would this create refraction?
Can light ever be constant? and how?
gravity affects …
gravity affects light, and by proxy the speed of light.
in the microwaves …
in the microwaves there are nodes and antinodes. the plate rotates in the hope that every area travels through the antinodes.
What I do find a …
What I do find a little irritating, is that you use electrons in this example, which I really like…you always have very nice home experiments…, as an equivalent for photons. But actually Photons and Electrons might not have the very same speed under all circumstances.
So this experiment itself is very nice, but perhaps not really answering the question about nominal speed of light in vacuum?
*but still 5 stars for this one*
you sound a little …
you sound a little bit like martha stewart
your goning to have …
your goning to have your brain rot out watching that microwave so closely
Best experiment …
Best experiment ever.
I was a little surprised that it would work in a standard microwave, though, because I was given to understand that microwaves enter the chamber at an angle and bounce around until they encounter something that absorbs them, creating a pattern of hot spots. Modern microwaves, too, are designed to cause the hotspots to shift around for more regular heating. Of course, if that microwave came with your apartment, “modern” may not apply.
Thanks for the sciente.
What I do find a …
What I do find a little irritating, is that you use electrons in this example, which I really like…you always have very nice home experiments…, as an equivalent for photons. But actually Photons and Electrons might not have the very same speed under all circumstances.
So this experiment itself is very nice, but perhaps not really answering the question about nominal speed of light in vacuum?
*but still 5 stars for this*
i like your way of …
i like your way of description
Since microwaves …
Since microwaves are part of light energy, why does it heat food unevenly in a wave? Visible light doesn’t appear as ripples, after all.
no eating your …
no eating your experiments!
Hey mooey,
I just …
Hey mooey,
I just wanted you to know (in case you didn’t already) that the Tank Vodcast has picked up on your experiment (this one). The user is riedsa and the episode is “The TANK Vodcast Feb. 29. 2008 – Who is James Randi?” So congratulations on the plug and keep up the great work.
Yeah, the …
Yeah, the Fizeau-Foucault experiment is awesome, but.. well.. the distances need to be set in km (otherwise it’s not really measurable), so.. I am not sure how that could be done at home. But it’s great to read about it, it’s a really clever experiment.
I must try that. …
I must try that. Nice demonstration to show my nephews and Niece. I always wanted to build a machine to measure the light speed the old fashioned way. With a light source a cogwheel and a mirror.
CLAP!!!
CLAP!!!
That was …
That was fascinating! Good job Moo!
Wow, physics for …
Wow, physics for the rest of us. I understand the whole calculation now because of the way you described it. Thanks.
Good stuff poo. … …
Good stuff poo. …..er that sounds wrong…
I have completely …
I have completely lost track of what’s going on here.
Can’t I just eat some chocolate?
Fantastic stuff as …
Fantastic stuff as always, Moo! Keep up the great work!
Pretty neat.
Pretty neat.
At the nodes, there …
At the nodes, there is no oscillating electric field to heat the molecules. The locations of the trough and the crest are half a wavelength (~6 cm) apart.
Um.. Happy learning;)
Nicely done… ★★★★ …
Nicely done… ★★★★★
Katalyzt