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Chapter 26: Problem 2

The light-second is a unit of distance; 1 light-second is the distance that light travels in 1 second. (a) Find the conversion between light-seconds and meters: 1 lightsecond \(=? \mathrm{m} .\) (b) What is the speed of light in units of light-seconds per second?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Answer: The speed of light is 1 light-second/second.

Step by step solution

01

(a) Conversion between light-seconds and meters

To find the distance light travels in one second, we can simply multiply the speed of light in meters per second by the time interval of 1 second. In this case, the speed of light is approximately 299,792,458 meters per second. So, the conversion between light-seconds and meters is: 1 light-second = 299,792,458 meters
02

(b) Speed of light in light-seconds per second

Now that we have the conversion between light-seconds and meters, we can determine the speed of light in light-seconds per second. Since 1 light-second is the distance light travels in 1 second, the speed of light in light-seconds per second is simply 1 light-second per second. So, the speed of light is 1 light-second/second.

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