Calculating Light Travel Time for 60 cm

[sofianets]

Homework Statement

if the velocity of light in the medium is assumed to be 2.10^-8 m/s, how much time does it take the light to travel through the distance of 60 cm?

Homework Equations

n/a

The Attempt at a Solution

i tried to do something but not enough.. :(

 

[Doc Al]

What's the definition of speed? (Rewrite the speed of the light more carefully. I doubt you meant 10^-8.)

 

[sofianets]

yes,it can be 2.10^8 m/s

 

[TameTroll]

if the velocity of light in the medium is assumed to be 2.10^8 m/s, right?

so, if it had asked:

how much time does it take the light to travel through the distance of 2.10^8 m?

You would have answered 1 second.

From here, you can derive the formula.

distance/speed = time taken

Just be sure to convert the units as needed :)

 

[Nickie]

I would approach this problem by first converting the given velocity of light in the medium from meters per second to centimeters per second, since the distance given is in centimeters. This can be done by multiplying the velocity by 100.

Next, I would use the formula for calculating time, which is distance divided by velocity. In this case, the distance is 60 cm and the velocity is 2.10^-8 cm/s. Plugging these values into the formula, we get:

Time = 60 cm / (2.10^-8 cm/s)

Simplifying, we get:

Time = 60 * 10^8 s

This means that it would take the light approximately 60 million seconds to travel through the 60 cm distance in this medium. This is equivalent to about 694 days, or almost 2 years.

It is important to note that the velocity of light in different mediums can vary and may not always be constant. Further research and experimentation may be needed to determine the exact velocity and time in different mediums.