# Don't you think light is quite slow? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 12, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444 "2011-10-12T18:41:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444/21 "2011-10-12T23:05:53Z")
> [@Qwertol](#): > > It’s not only that, another thing is that we can’t reasonably think about space travel. We are pretty much bound to our solar system, others are hundreds if no more years away from us, I’m afraid going for so long trip will never be a rational idea despite technological development. It’s a sad fact of modern science fiction that we don’t consider in-solar-system travel to be space travel any more. We’ve got at least a couple of centuries of space exploration ahead of us before we get people out of the solar system. Besides, even trips to distant stars can be short trips for the one doing the traveling if you go fast enough. There’s a minimum time it takes as seen by an earthbound observer, but no minimum time for someone who’s actually making the trip. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444/22 "2011-10-12T23:21:28Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > Yes, it’s too slow. I’m pretty sure that was light doing 55 in the left lane of the beltway this morning. There oughta to be a law (of physics.) Light speed’s too slow?!? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444/23 "2011-10-13T09:00:18Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > Yes, it’s too slow. I’m pretty sure that was light doing 55 in the left lane of the beltway this morning. There oughta to be a law (of physics.) Sounds as it should be. Light travels slower in various mediums other than a vacuum. When the medium in question is beltway rush hour traffic, 55 [mph we assume here] sounds like quite a good rate of speed indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444/24 "2011-10-13T09:02:51Z")
> [@Qwertol](#): > > For example think about this: You wouldn’t be able to play Quake with somebody on the moon. This sucks… You are only choosing to limit yourself, by choosing light as your medium. Try playing Quake or whatever using quantum entanglement as your medium, then you could play with someone on Alpha Centauri or beyond. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444/25 "2011-10-13T09:07:12Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > **It’s a sad fact of modern science fiction that we don’t consider in-solar-system travel to be space travel any more.** We’ve got at least a couple of centuries of space exploration ahead of us before we get people out of the solar system. > > Besides, even trips to distant stars can be short trips for the one doing the traveling if you go fast enough. There’s a minimum time it takes as seen by an earthbound observer, but no minimum time for someone who’s actually making the trip. (Emphasis added.) When I was young, the cutting edge in popular sci-fi was things like that TV show “Mars and Beyond”, and some similar things I think I remember Disney doing on their Tomorrowland segments. ---
**Author:** ![Qwertol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Qwertol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertol)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444/26 "2011-10-13T11:27:50Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > You are only choosing to limit yourself, by choosing light as your medium. Try playing Quake or whatever using quantum entanglement as your medium, then you could play with someone on Alpha Centauri or beyond. Quantum entanglement can’t be used to pass information. Information can’t travel faster than light, period. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444/27 "2011-10-13T13:19:38Z")
The problem with Light travelling slow in the Fast Lane is that they always have their Left Turn Old Person blinking. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444/28 "2011-10-13T14:18:59Z")
> [@Qwertol](#): > > Quantum entanglement can’t be used to pass information. Information can’t travel faster than light, period. So says your primitive 21st century knowledge. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > The problem with Light travelling slow in the Fast Lane is that they always have their Left Turn Old Person blinking. Why’s it always the left one in the joke? You never hear anyone joke about an old person’s right turn signal. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444/29 "2011-10-13T14:23:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Why’s it always the left one in the joke? You never hear anyone joke about an old person’s right turn signal. [Patiently Explaining, but Killing the Joke] Because people turn on their left signal (in the US) to indicate their desire to get into the passing lane. Since the switch usually isn’t large enough to trigger the “off” mechanism, the blinker continues to operate unless you consciously turn it off. Older folks tend to forget/be too deaf to hear the clicking/be too blind to notice the indicator light, so the light keeps blinking. Most people really don’y signal when coming back to the right, and in ant case part of the complaint is that the slow old people persist in staying in the Fast Lane, so there’d be no reason for the Right signal to be on. [/PEbKtJ] ---
**Author:** ![Qwertol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Qwertol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertol)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444/30 "2011-10-13T14:25:26Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > So says your primitive 21st century knowledge. No, so says special relativity. When (and if) it will get invalidated I will change my mind. ---
**Author:** ![ModernPrimate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@ModernPrimate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ModernPrimate)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444/31 "2011-10-13T21:53:47Z")
> [@Qwertol](#): > > No, so says special relativity. When (and if) it will get invalidated I will change my mind. Where have you been the past two weeks or so? The speed of light has been passed, it was all over the news and everything. Seriously, look it up. ---
**Author:** ![Qwertol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Qwertol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertol)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444/32 "2011-10-13T22:30:09Z")
> [@ModernPrimate](#): > > Where have you been the past two weeks or so? > > The speed of light has been passed, it was all over the news and everything. Seriously, look it up. You can’t say it has been passed, you may only say scientists at CERN think it may be passed. It’s probable that they are just misinterpreting the results of experiment or the methodology weren’t right. It is safer to assume that, than just scraping the whole theory of relativity. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2011, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444/33 "2011-10-14T07:27:27Z")
> [@ModernPrimate](#): > > Where have you been the past two weeks or so? > > The speed of light has been passed, it was all over the news and everything. Seriously, look it up. What scientist says: “Look, we’ve had some strange issues with some neutrinos in this experiment, they seem to be travelling at a very minuscule amount above C. It has to be independently verified, though, and most likely there is some silly mundane explanation, so don’t go overboard with this, OK?” What reporter hears: “CERN REVOKES LAWS OF PHYSICS: TIME TRAVEL NOW QUICKEST WAY TO COMMUTE.” ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444/34 "2011-10-15T12:10:45Z")
Well look, scientists will increase the speed of light in 2208. Until then we’ll just have to make do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dont-you-think-light-is-quite-slow/599444.md?page=1)