How long does it take the Sun's rays to reach the Earth?

A process called fusion heats the Sun. Fusion happens in the core of the Sun. It is very hot there. In fact, the
core's average temperature is around 27,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The surface of the Sun is cool compared ith
the core, only !0,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
This fusion process not only heats the Sun, it ma"es the sunlight e see here on #arth. This sunlight travels
the speed of light hich is !$%,2$2 miles per second or 2&&,7&2,'($ meters per second. This means the light from
the Sun ta"es 8.4 minutes to travel &) million miles to #arth. If the orld's fastest land animal ere to travel that
same distance, it ould ta"e a cheetah over !(! years to reach the #arth running a*out 70 mph nonstop+
Speed of light
The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted c, is a universal physical constant important in many
areas of physics. Its value is e,actly 299!924"8 metres per second *ecause the length of the metre is defined from
this constant and the international standard for time. This is, to three significant figures, !$%,000 miles per second,
or a*out %7! million miles per hour. According to special relativity, c is the ma,imum speed at hich all matter and
information in the universe can travel. It is the speed at hich all massless particles and changes of the associated
fields -including electromagnetic radiation such as light and gravitational aves. travel in vacuum. Such particles
and aves travel at c regardless of the motion of the source or the inertial frame of reference of the o*server. In the
theory of relativity, c interrelates space and time, and also appears in the famous e/uation of mass0energy
e/uivalence E 1 mc
2
.
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The speed at hich light propagates through transparent materials, such as glass or air, is less than c. The
ratio *eteen c and the speed v at hich light travels in a material is called the refractive inde, n of the material
-n 1 c 4 v.. For e,ample, for visi*le light the refractive inde, of glass is typically around !.(, meaning that light in
glass travels at c 4 !.( 5 200000 "m4s6 the refractive inde, of air for visi*le light is !.0002&), so the speed of light in
air is 2&&70( "m4s or a*out $$ "m4s sloer than c.
In some cases, light and other electromagnetic aves can *e thought to *e moving 7instantaneously7, *ut
for long distances and very sensitive measurements their finite speed has noticea*le effects. In communicating ith
distant space pro*es, it can ta"e minutes to hours for a message to get from #arth to the spacecraft, or vice versa.
The light e see from stars left them many years ago, alloing us to study the history of the universe *y loo"ing at
distant o*8ects. The finite speed of light also limits the theoretical ma,imum speed of computers, since information
must *e sent ithin the computer from chip to chip. The speed of light can *e used ith time of flight measurements
to measure large distances to high precision.
9le :;mer first demonstrated in !%7% that light travelled at a finite speed -as opposed to instantaneously.
*y studying the apparent motion of <upiter's moon Io. In !$%(, <ames =ler" >a,ell proposed that light as an
electromagnetic ave, and therefore travelled at the speed c appearing in his theory of electromagnetism. In !&0(,
Al*ert #instein postulated that the speed of light ith respect to any inertial frame is independent of the motion of
the light source, and e,plored the conse/uences of that postulate *y deriving the special theory of relativity and
shoing that the parameter c had relevance outside of the conte,t of light and electromagnetism. After centuries of
increasingly precise measurements, in !&7( the speed of light as "non to *e 2&&7&2'($ m4s ith a measurement
uncertainty of ' parts per *illion. In !&$), the metre as redefined in the International System of ?nits -SI. as the
distance travelled *y light in vacuum in !42&&,7&2,'($ of a second. As a result, the numerical value of c in metres
per second is no fi,ed e,actly *y the definition of the metre.
Time @ilation
This is a derivation of the time dilation formula. A cloc" is made *y sending a pulse of light toard a mirror at a
distance A and *ac" to a receiver. #ach 7tic"7 is a roundBtrip to the mirror. The cloc" is shon at rest in the 7Aa*7
frame in Fig. !a, or any time it is in its on rest frame. =onse/uently, it also represents the cloc" at rest in roc"etC!.
Figure !* is the ay the cloc" loo"s in the la* hen the cloc" is at rest in roc"etC!, hich is moving to the right
ith velocity #.
Actually, our cloc" 7tic"s7 once every roundBtrip of the light pulse. So, e should use ct12A, etc. Dut since *oth legs
of the roundBtrip are the same, e'll 8ust use the oneBay times for simplicity.
Some notationE
t 1 time for light to reach the mirror in the la* for a cloc" at rest in :oc"et C! -Fig. !*.
t' 1 time for light to reach the mirror in :oc"etC! in its on rest frame -Fig. !a.
A 1 distance to mirror
So, the times and distances are related as follosE
A 1 ct'
A
2
F v
2
Gt
2
1 c
2
Gt
2
-Hythagorean theorem.
#liminate A from the e/uationsE
c
2
Gt'
2
1 c
2
Gt
2
B v
2
Gt
2

t' 1 tGI-!Bv
2
4c
2
.
Since I-!Bv
2
4c
2
.J!, the cloc" at rest in roc"etC! appears slo to o*servers in the la*.
Ko *ac" to Fig. !c. :oc"etC2 is moving ith velocity # to the left . Those cloc"s ould also appear slo to
o*servers in the la*. Dut, it is also the ay a cloc" at rest in the la* appears in roc"etC!. So, la* cloc"s also appear
slo to o*servers in the la*. :elativity is symmetrical+
$ompounding %words&
'efinition(
In linguistics, the process of com*ining to ords -free morphemes. to create a ne ord
-commonly a noun, ver*, or ad8ective..
=ompounds are ritten sometimes as one ord -sunglasses., sometimes as to hyphenated
ords -life-threatening., and sometimes as to separate ords -football stadium..
In #nglish, ords, particularly ad8ectives and nouns, are com*ined into compound structures in a
variety of ays. And once they are formed, they sometimes metamorphose over time. A common
pattern is that to ords L fire fly, say L ill *e 8oined *y a hyphen for a time L fireBfly L
and then *e 8oined into one ord L firefly. In this respect, a language li"e Kerman, in hich
ords are happily and immediately lin"ed one to the other, might seem to have an advantage.
There is only one sure ay to know ho to spell compounds in #nglishE use an authoritative
dictionary.
There are three forms of compound ordsE
the closed form, in hich the ords are melded together, such as firefly,
secondhand, soft*all, childli"e, crosston, redhead, "ey*oard, ma"eup, note*oo"6
the hyphenated form, such as daughterBinBla, masterBatBarms, overBtheBcounter,
si,Bpac", si,ByearBold, massBproduced6
and the open form, such as post office, real estate, middle class, full moon, half
sister, attorney general.
)ecause *f +ou with ,e-a .cEntire / 0elly
$larkson
I ill not ma"e the same mista"es that you did
I ill not let myself cause my heart so much misery
I ill not *rea" the ay you did
Mou fell so hard
INve learned the hard ay, to never let it get that far
Decause of you
I never stray too far from the sideal"
Decause of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I donNt get hurt
Decause of you
I find it hard to trust
Oot only me, *ut everyone around me
Decause of you
I am afraid
I lose my ay
And itNs not too long *efore you point it out
I cannot cry
Decause I "no thatNs ea"ness in your eyes
INm forced to fa"e a smile, a laugh
#very day of my life
>y heart canNt possi*ly *rea"
Phen it asnNt even hole to start ith
Decause of you
I never stray too far from the sideal"
Decause of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I donNt get hurt
Decause of you
I find it hard to trust
Oot only me, *ut everyone around me
Decause of you
I am afraid
I atched you die
I heard you cry
#very night in your sleep
I as so young
Mou should have "non *etter than to lean on me
Mou never thought of anyone else
Mou 8ust sa your pain
And no I cry
In the middle of the night
For the same damn thing
Decause of you
I never stray too far from the sideal"
Decause of you
I learned to play on the safe side
So I donNt get hurt
Decause of you
I find it hard to trust
Oot only me, *ut everyone around me
Decause of you
I am afraid
Decause of you
Qanggang Ogayon *y Ryla
Sa '"ing pagBiisa
Ala ala hahhh
Da"it hanggang ngayon
Ay i"a pa rin sinta
'At sa hatingga*i
Sa pagtulog mo
Qanap mo *a a"o
Qanggang sa paggising mo
Railanman i"a'y ini*ig ng tunay
'Pag mong limutin pagBi*ig sa '"in
Oa iyong pinadama
Hintig ng puso 'ag mong itago
Sa isang "ahapon sana'y mag*ali"
Oang mapai ang pagluha
Da't hanggang ngayon ay i"a pa rin ang mahal
Qmmmm...
'@i ma"apaniala
Sa nagaa mong paglisan
9 "ay *ilis namang naala "a sa a"in
9, ang laraan mo
Rahit sandali
A"ing minamasdan para *ang "apiling "a
@ati "ayligaya mo sa piling "o
'Pag mong limutin pagBi*ig sa '"in
Oa iyong pinadama
Hintig ng puso 'ag mong itago
Sa isang "ahapon sana'y mag*ali"
Oang mapai ang pagluha
Da't hanggang ngayon ay i"a pa rin ang mahal
Qmmmm...