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From: gjk@talcott.UUCP (Greg J Kuperberg)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: Re: "big bang" a big bust?
Message-ID: <162@talcott.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 4-Dec-84 12:04:01 EST
Article-I.D.: talcott.162
Posted: Tue Dec  4 12:04:01 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 8-Dec-84 04:48:55 EST
References: <85@decwrl.UUCP> <10800012@uiucdcsb.UUCP>
Organization: Harvard
Lines: 25

> It would seem that information transmission is not necessarily bound by
> the properties of light.  Any comments?
> 
> Arch - uiucdcs

No, it's the other way around.  Information transfer has certain limits;
for example, that information cannot travel faster than c.  Light, as a
carrier of information, is also bound to this speed.

A vacuum is a "perfect" medium for electromagnetic information transfer, so
light in a vacuum travels as fast as it can---c.

Since this is a good way to measure c, the quantity was originally defined
this way.  A good definition A.E. (after Einstein) would be:

C (in meters/second) is the conversion factor between one meter and one
second, just as 1.609 is the conversion factor between one mile and one
kilometer.
---
			Greg Kuperberg
		     harvard!talcott!gjk

"Madam, there is only one important question facing us, and that is the
question whether the white race will survive."  -Leonid Breshnev, speaking
to Margaret Thatcher.