A Brief (Informal) History of the Speed of Light

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Image of Lightspeed from Star Wars

A Brief (Informal) Timeline of the Speed of Light

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~450 BC
  • Empedocles theorized that light has a finite speed. Aristotle Disagees.
    • ~500 BC - 1600s
  • People repeatedly postulate whether or not light travels and therefore has speed. No real conclusion has been reached.
    • 1629
  • Isaac Beeckman theorized an experiment involving an observer, a mirror, and a cannon, but there is no record that this experiment was ever performed.
    • 1667
  • Galileo performed the first ever attempted measurement of the speed of light. He did so with the help of two individuals with lanterns in a field. His conclusion: "Light is fast". Galileo was unable to determine if light traveled instantaniously.
    • 1676
  • Ole Roemer performed the first quantitative measurement by observing an eclipse involving Jupiter's moons. After this people became rather good at measuring light and it was much less "MacGyver-esk".
    • 1838
  • Light-year was coined as the distance light travels in a year. ~5.88 x 1012mi
    • 1905
  • Einstein developed his Theory of Special Relativity. The most prolific part of this theory is E=mc2.
    • 1977
  • Star Wars was released and coined the term Lightspeed to express the speed a ship travels when in hyperspace.