The light-second is a

unit of length A unit of length refers to any arbitrarily chosen and accepted reference standard for measurement of length. The most common units in modern use are the metric units, used in every country globally. In the United States the U.S. customary uni ...

useful in

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that ...

and relativistic physics. It is defined as the

distance Distance is a numerical or occasionally qualitative measurement of how far apart objects or points are. In physics or everyday usage, distance may refer to a physical length or an estimation based on other criteria (e.g. "two counties over"). ...

that

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 t ...

travels in

free space A vacuum is a space devoid of matter. The word is derived from the Latin adjective ''vacuus'' for "vacant" or " void". An approximation to such vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressure. Physicists often ...

in one

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ea ...

, and is equal to exactly . Just as the second forms the basis for other units of

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

, the light-second can form the basis for other units of

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Inte ...

, ranging from the light-nanosecond ( or just under one international foot) to the light-minute, light-hour and light-day, which are sometimes used in

popular science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

publications. The more commonly used

light-year A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distance, astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 Orders of magnitude (numbers)#1012, trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 ...

is also currently defined to be equal to precisely , since the definition of a year is based on a Julian year (not the

Gregorian year Gregorian may refer to: *The thought or ideology of Pope Gregory I or Pope Gregory VII (also called ''Gregorianism'') *Things named for Pope Gregory I: **Gregorian chant, the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccom ...

) of exactly 365.25 days, each of exactly SI seconds.

Use in telecommunications

Communications signals on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...

rarely travel at precisely the

speed of light The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant that is important in many areas of physics. The speed of light is exactly equal to ). According to the special theory of relativity, is the upper limit fo ...

in free space. Distances in fractions of a light-second are useful for planning telecommunications networks. * One light-nanosecond is almost 300 millimetres (299.8 mm, 5 mm less than one

foot The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg mad ...

David Mermin Nathaniel David Mermin (; born 30 March 1935) is a solid-state physicist at Cornell University best known for the eponymous Mermin–Wagner theorem, his application of the term " boojum" to superfluidity, his textbook with Neil Ashcroft on sol ...

suggested one light-nanosecond might be called a ''phoot'' at page 22 of ''It's About Time'' (2005),

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...

), which limits the speed of data transfer between different parts of a large computer. * One light-microsecond is about 300 metres. * The mean distance, over land, between opposite sides of the Earth is 66.8 light-milliseconds. *

Communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth ...

s are typically 1.337 light-milliseconds (

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never m ...

) to 119.4 light-milliseconds (

geostationary orbit A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit in altitu ...

) from the surface of the Earth. Hence there will always be a delay of at least a quarter of a second in a communication via geostationary satellite (119.4 ms times 2); this delay is just perceptible in a transoceanic telephone conversation routed by satellite. The answer will also be delayed with a quarter of a second and this is clearly noticeable during interviews or discussions on TV when sent over satellite.

Use in astronomy

1e13m comparison Hale Bopp and smaller - HQ no transparency

The light-second is a convenient unit for measuring distances in the inner

Solar System The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...

, since it corresponds very closely to the

radiometric Radiometry is a set of techniques for measuring electromagnetic radiation, including visible light. Radiometric techniques in optics characterize the distribution of the radiation's power in space, as opposed to photometric techniques, which ...

data used to determine them. (The match is not exact for an Earth-based observer because of a very small correction for the effects of relativity.) The value of the

astronomical unit The astronomical unit (symbol: au, or or AU) is a unit of length, roughly the distance from Earth to the Sun and approximately equal to or 8.3 light-minutes. The actual distance from Earth to the Sun varies by about 3% as Earth orbits ...

(roughly the distance between Earth and the Sun) in light-seconds is a fundamental measurement for the calculation of modern ephemerides (tables of planetary positions). It is usually quoted as "light-time for unit distance" in tables of

astronomical constant An astronomical constant is any of several physical constants used in astronomy. Formal sets of constants, along with recommended values, have been defined by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) several times: in 1964Resolution No.4 of thXIIt ...

s, and its currently accepted value is s.. * The mean diameter of Earth is about 0.0425 light-seconds. * The average distance between Earth and the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

(the lunar distance) is about 1.282 light-seconds. * The diameter of the Sun is about 4.643 light-seconds. * The average distance between Earth and the Sun (the

) is 499.0 light-seconds. Multiples of the light-second can be defined, although apart from the light-year, they are more used in

publications than in research works. For example, a light-minute is 60 light-seconds, and the average distance between Earth and the Sun is 8.317 light-minutes.

References

{{Units of length used in Astronomy Units of length Units of measurement in astronomy

Use in telecommunications

Use in astronomy

See also

References