Galileo once tried to measure the speed of light using the following method: he

Question

Galileo once tried to measure the speed of light using the following method: he and his assistant stood on two hills, about 5km apart, each holding a shuttered lantern. Galileo would open his shutter first; as soon as the assistant saw Galileo's light, he would open his own shutter. Galileo would measure the time difference between when he first opened his shutter and when he saw the assistant's light. Then, knowing the distance that light had traveled, he could calculate the speed of light.

a) Using the known value of the speed of light, calculate how long it would take for light to travel from Galileo to his assistant and back in this experiment

b) Do you think this is a good way to measure the speed of light? Discuss this quantitatively, taking account of the uncertainty in the measurements. What percent error would one expect to have in a time measurement like this?

Explanation / Answer

a) 5 kms apart total distance traveled by light 10kms c =3x10^8 m/s

t = 10^4/3 x 10^8 = .033 x 10^-4 secs

b)

as this is a very short time interval there might be many errors while taking the readings (human error)

human eye cannot distinguish between such quick events

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