ok.here's the question.
if you are at the base of a light house and the light rotates once every 6 seconds.(10 rpms,you know,the flash that you see when the light points in you direction).
if you are 20 miles out,what would be the time between flashes?
reason i ask is that someone i know insists that the farther you are away from the light house, the longer the time difference between flashes..this is no joke, he and two other of my friends thinks this.
i say no matter how far you go,the flashes will be 6 seconds apart.i was going to give an example of pulsars,but thought best not to be a nerd.(i'm into astronomy).there is a $20 bet on the table.thanks all.

 

Your right because the R.P.M never changes. The only thing that changes as you get further away is the speed of the light at any given point. Since you are farther away, the light has more ground to cover (circumference) in the same amount of time (10 rpms). Does that make sense? Think about it in our world: the nut that holds your flywheel on is close to the center of the crank spinning 10,000 rpms. The rod pin is farther away and has to spin the same speed. That should convince your buddys to hand over the deuce.

 

it would have to be the same!?!? because the speed of light and the light wouldnt slow down. am i right!?!

 

Right, the speed of light doesn't change 300 million meters per second(186,000 miles per sec)....at the short of a distance it's there instantaneously. Now if there's a fog horn blasting along with the light it will change sync as distance grows.

Now there are arguments and apparent proof that the speed of light is not constant and it can exceed the long standing figures given above

 

thanks guys(and girls)for helping me retain my sanity in this

 

terd- Do you believe in aliens and ufo's? Have you ever been abducted by aliens? Is the moon really made of cheese? If so, is it dipping cheese? Will a meteor strike the Lake Erie area at the beginning of the end of the world? Do you believe that life began on this planet because it traveled here on a meteor from another planet?

 

1-criminal aliens-yes...or in progressive liberal verbeage(undocumented aliens)...PAH!!
2-no
3-no
4-possibly
5-probable


why?would my answers to your questions persuade you to agree with me?

 

Who said ? that I've been persuaded to agree with you about something?

 

what are you guys smokin

 

yes the speed of light can change its speed. You see light is an electromanetic wave and it doesnt need matter to travel but if it does travel through matter, the denser it is the slower it goes because it has to work its way around al the particles. The time the light house goes around in 6 seconds could change but by about almost nothing. you win the bet.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]