How a Dutch man figured out the speed of light

[Quasar44]

https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/curriculum-collections/cosmic-horizons-book/ole-roemer-speed-of-light

Such brilliant genius

Please read and this was 17th century

 

[deannalw]

https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/curriculum-collections/cosmic-horizons-book/ole-roemer-speed-of-light

Such brilliant genius

Please read and this was 17th century

I ain't gonna read all that, but thanks for the link. Awesome museum.

 

[Quasar44]

I ain't gonna read all that, but thanks for the link. Awesome museum.

He basically noticed one of Jupiter’s moon was ellipsis the planet of Jupiter and different odd intervals depending on earths distance from Jupiter . He realized this ellipse took extra time to travel to earth depending on the orbit distance


He then took this time difference based on different eclipse rates and divided it by earths orbit to Jupiter. He came close to answer

 

[Quasar44]

I am going back in time and publishing this !
Going to finally be famous

 

[toobfreak]

Such brilliant genius

I wondered why I never heard of the guy, because he didn't actually discover light speed. He was looking for something else, he had an idea to explain an error in his observations. It was actually Christian Huygens who discovered the light speed, did the math, came up with the answers, and his calcs were only off a bit because Romer's data was faulty.

Huygens was central to the scientific revolution of physics and should be credited, because he PROVED what to Romer was nothing but an idea, a guess.