A method of comparing the speed of starlight and the speed of light from a terrestrial source

Jingshown Wu; Shenq-Tsong Chang; Hen-Wai Tsao; Yen-Ru Huang; San-Liang Lee; Cheng-Chieh Chang; Wei-Cheng Lin; Ho-Lin Tsay; Yi-Lung Wang; Po-Hsuan Huang; Ming-Ying Hsu; Chia-Wei Hsu; Shu-Chuan Lin; Yung-Jr Hung; Ye-Li Shiu; Yung-Chung Hsiao; Je-Yuan Chang; Din Ping Tsai; Ting-Ming Huang; Hong-Tsu Young; Yi-Cheng Liu; Chung-Min Chang; Wei-Chieh Chiang; Ji-Ying Huang; Ya-Hsin Chen

doi:10.1117/12.2023127

1 October 2013 A method of comparing the speed of starlight and the speed of light from a terrestrial source

Jingshown Wu, Shenq-Tsong Chang, Hen-Wai Tsao, Yen-Ru Huang, San-Liang Lee, Cheng-Chieh Chang, Wei-Cheng Lin, Ho-Lin Tsay, Yi-Lung Wang, Po-Hsuan Huang, Ming-Ying Hsu, Chia-Wei Hsu, Shu-Chuan Lin, Yung-Jr Hung, Ye-Li Shiu, Yung-Chung Hsiao, Je-Yuan Chang, Din Ping Tsai, Ting-Ming Huang, Hong-Tsu Young, Yi-Cheng Liu, Chung-Min Chang, Wei-Chieh Chiang, Ji-Ying Huang, Ya-Hsin Chen

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8832, The Nature of Light: What are Photons? V; 883203 (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2023127
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2013, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

The speed of light is an important physical parameter. Currently it is a common belief of the constance of the speed of light regardless of the relative velocity between the source and the observer. Because the speed of light is very fast, if the relative velocity is small compared with the speed of light, it is difficult to detect the effect of the relative velocity on the measurement of the speed of light. In this paper we present a method of comparing the speeds of starlight and the light emitting from a terrestrial source. We use a telescope to collect the light from the star having significant relative velocity with respect to the earth, e.g. Capella. Then we modulate the starlight and the light emitted from the local source into pulses i.e. these pulses leave the modulator simultaneously. After travelling 4.2 km, these pulses are detected by a receiver. If the starlight and the terrestrial light have the same speed, then these pulses must arrive at the receiver at the same time. Our results show that the arrival times of the pulses of starlight are different from that of the local light. For example, the Capella is leaving away from the earth. The Capella pulses arrive later than the local light pulses. It indicates that the speed of Capella starlight is slower than the common believed value, c. The presented method uses one clock and one stick, so the clock synchronization problem and any physical unit transformation can be avoided.

Citation Download Citation

Jingshown Wu, Shenq-Tsong Chang, Hen-Wai Tsao, Yen-Ru Huang, San-Liang Lee, Cheng-Chieh Chang, Wei-Cheng Lin, Ho-Lin Tsay, Yi-Lung Wang, Po-Hsuan Huang, Ming-Ying Hsu, Chia-Wei Hsu, Shu-Chuan Lin, Yung-Jr Hung, Ye-Li Shiu, Yung-Chung Hsiao, Je-Yuan Chang, Din Ping Tsai, Ting-Ming Huang, Hong-Tsu Young, Yi-Cheng Liu, Chung-Min Chang, Wei-Chieh Chiang, Ji-Ying Huang, and Ya-Hsin Chen "A method of comparing the speed of starlight and the speed of light from a terrestrial source", Proc. SPIE 8832, The Nature of Light: What are Photons? V, 883203 (1 October 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2023127

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available