Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site dciem.UUCP
Path: utzoo!dciem!ntt
From: ntt@dciem.UUCP (Mark Brader)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: Speed of light
Message-ID: <316@dciem.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 23-Aug-83 18:34:36 EDT
Article-I.D.: dciem.316
Posted: Tue Aug 23 18:34:36 1983
Date-Received: Wed, 24-Aug-83 00:47:35 EDT
References: <638@mit-eddie.UUCP>
Organization: NTT Systems Inc., Toronto, Canada
Lines: 19

(Earlier net articles, one from me, pointed out that the meter is now going
to be defined in terms of the speed of light, that the speed of light will
*by definition* be 299792458 m/s, and that therefore anyone who thinks they
are measuring the speed of light will actually be measuring the meter.)

    No, it is still possible to measure the speed of light.  It's just
    that the measurments now have to be done in feet.  They will then
    be converted to meters.  Remeber, the speed of light is independent
    of the measuring system.
    Randwulf

Well, in THIS country at least, the foot is defined as 0.3048 m exactly.  This
This makes the speed of light in a vacuum in Canada exactly 299792458/1609.344
(or about 186282.397051221-) miles per second.

I'm not sure of the current definition but there used to be 3 kinds of foot
in the USA; one was 0.3048 m, another was 1200/3937 m, the third in between.

Mark Brader, NTT Systems Inc., Toronto, Canada