Guest guest Posted November 25, 2000 Report Share Posted November 25, 2000 - " jairam seshadri " <jairamseshadri <Ramakrishna > Friday, November 24, 2000 04:00 [ramakrishna] clarification...please > > Apparently, the speed of light is an absolute. The speed of light from a > rocket speeding away from us is the same as the speed of light on a rocket > speeding towards us! > > I find that rather tough to comprehend. > Can someone explain that in layman's terms? > Hi Jairam This unusual feature that speed of light is constant is 'a real breakthro' in modern science. It is this feature that allows us to end up with E = mc2 the famous equation. In layman's terms. Light is not something like ordinary items in motion. Hence this unusual feature. Ordinary items have relative speeds you work out total speed by adding or subtracting speeds. Light is not an ordinary object hence does not obey this law. There are no other physical objects moving about that can emulate this property of light. regards jay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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