Light is the fastest thing in the universe, travelling at a staggering speed of 299,792,458 metres per second. That’s fast enough to circle the Earth 7.5 times in one second! But how far does light travel in a year? To answer this question, we need to take a look at the equation for the speed of light.
Speed of Light Equation
The equation for the speed of light is the product of the speed of light in a vacuum, c, and the number of metres in a second, m/s. This equation can be written as:
c = m/s
If we want to find out how far light travels in one year, we can simply multiply the speed of light in a vacuum, c, by the number of seconds in a year. As there are 31,536,000 seconds in a year, we can write our equation as:
Distance = c x 31,536,000
To calculate the distance light travels in one year, we simply need to substitute the value for c into our equation. As c = 299,792,458 m/s, we can write our equation as:
Distance = 299,792,458 m/s x 31,536,000
Plugging this into our calculator we can find out that the distance light travels in one year is 9.46 x 1015 metres! That’s a lot of distance!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the equation for the speed of light?
The equation for the speed of light is c = m/s, where c is the speed of light in a vacuum, and m/s is the number of metres in a second.
How fast does light travel in a vacuum?
Light travels at a speed of 299,792,458 metres per second in a vacuum.
How far does light travel in a year?
Light travels a distance of 9.46 x 1015 metres in one year.
How many seconds are in a year?
There are 31,536,000 seconds in a year.
What is the speed of light in km/s?
The speed of light in a vacuum is 299,792.458 km/s.
What is the speed of light in m/s?
The speed of light in a vacuum is 299,792,458 m/s.
How many metres are in a light year?
A light year is the distance light travels in one year, and is equal to 9.46 x 1015 metres.
How long does it take light to travel 1 km?
It takes light approximately 0.0000000033356409519815 seconds to travel 1 km.
What is the speed of light in feet per second?
The speed of light in a vacuum is 983,571,056 feet per second.
What is the speed of light in mph?
The speed of light in a vacuum is 670,616,629 mph.
What is the speed of light in knots?
The speed of light in a vacuum is 590,722,539 knots.
How long does it take light to travel 1 mile?
It takes light approximately 0.000000000444703978779842 seconds to travel 1 mile.
What is the speed of light in furlongs per fortnight?
The speed of light in a vacuum is 5,907,225,390 furlongs per fortnight.
How many kilometres are in a light year?
A light year is equal to 9.46 x 1012 kilometres.
What is the speed of light in metres per day?
The speed of light in a vacuum is 2.69 x 1013 metres per day.
How long does it take light to travel 1 foot?
It takes light approximately 0.000000000100850218082368 seconds to travel 1 foot.
What is the speed of light in inches per hour?
The speed of light in a vacuum is 2,736,632,098 inches per hour.
How many miles are in a light year?
A light year is equal to 5.88 x 1012 miles.
What is the speed of light in yards per second?
The speed of light in a vacuum is 107925408.24 yards per second.
How long does it take light to travel 1 inch?
It takes light approximately 0.000000000036281179095302 seconds to travel 1 inch.