How communication is possible between Earth and Space in a few minutes?
In: Physics
Space isn’t very far away – typically defined at around 62 miles (100km) from sea level. Most of the land in the US is further away from the ocean than it is from space.
Further, radio transmission happens at light speed which is incredibly fast – over 186,000 miles per second. Signals travelling between Earth and, say, the International Space Station (at 250 miles) can cover that distance in the blink of an eye.
>How communication is possible between Earth and Space in a few minutes?
A radio signal is an electromagnetic wave. It travels at the speed of light.
Divide the distance between radio transmitter and receiver by the speed of light and you will get the minimum time it will take for a signal from one to arrive at the other.
Light is really fast. The sun is about eight and a half minutes away by light. Mars is less than an hour.
It should be noted than in real life there is a delay.
The moon astronauts for example had a 1.3 second delay.
An astronaut on the sun would have an 8 minute delay , presumably telling us it was hot.
Movies obviously cannot have actors in space waiting minutes or hours between lines to have a conversation with earth.
Latest Answers