Obviously theoretical but if I took a light year long stick and say pushed a button at the other end would that button be pushed at the same time for me as say someone standing at the button? How does the frame of reference work when physically moving something? And could that “work” as a method of instant communication?
In: Planetary Science
No. That motion is transferred through the object at the speed of sound in the material that object is made of, which is always *far far far* less than the speed of light, and certainly not instantly.
For example, the speed of sound through steel is about 5,000 meters per second, and the Moon is, on average, 384,400 km from Earth. So if you had a steel rod 384,400 km long with one end on the Earth and one end on the Moon and you pushed on the rod, it would take a person on the Moon holding the other end 21.3 hours to feel it.
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