Re: A. Einstein and science-fairs

[William Beaty <billb@ESKIMO.COM>]

On Wed, 6 Oct 1999, Cliff Parker wrote:

> William Beaty wrote:
> > Hasn't the speed of light been declared to be constant?  So if changes are
> > detected, it means that our clock oscillators must have changed somehow?

> Since when does nature respond to our declarations.

Only those who use precision physical standards need to respond.  If the
speed of light is declared to be a constant, then it becomes impossible to
measure.  Any attempts to measure it are *really* measuring the length
standard and the time standard.

>  I am not suggesting
> that it is likely that she has altered the speed of light but one could
> always check.  I have a problem with the idea expressed previously that
> the speed of light is something that is defined and therefore can not be
> measured.

People decided to define it this way.


>  God does not check our definitions or declarations to see how
> fast light should travel today.

If we have a standard meter-bar, and a frequency standard for time, and
also a wave which travels at a standard speed...  what if we declare the
speed of the wave to be an inalterable universal constant?  In that case,
the time standard and the frequency standard are linked together by
definition.  But the speed of the wave can no longer be measured.

Imagine that the speed of light was declared to be exactly 1 in some
units of measurement...

> As to the second part of your comment.  What would happen if someday we
> detected a change in the speed of light based on an accepted definition
> of time and an accepted definition of length (of course that length
> would have to be something other than the meter)?  Which would be wrong
> the clock, the measure of length or the accepted speed of light?

If the speed of light has been declared to be constant, then any detected
changes MUST be in the clock or the length-standard.  I don't know if this
is such a good idea.  But then, what would happen if the speed of light
were to change slightly?  Might this make matter (and meter bars) change
size?


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