A laser shoots light at approximately 984,000,000 feet per second (300,000,000 meters per second), which is roughly 1 foot (30 cm) per nanosecond.
Lasers, by their very nature, emit light, and light travels at the fastest speed achievable in our universe: the speed of light. This makes lasers incredibly fast. When we talk about "shooting" a laser, we're essentially talking about emitting a beam of light. The speed at which that beam propagates is the speed of light.
Here's a breakdown to help understand the speed:
- Speed of Light: This is a fundamental constant in physics, often denoted as 'c'.
- Numerical Value: Approximately 299,792,458 meters per second in a vacuum.
- Approximation: For practical purposes, we often round this to 300,000,000 meters per second.
Laser Speed Guns
Laser speed guns used by law enforcement use this principle to measure the speed of vehicles. They emit a very short pulse of laser light and measure the time it takes for that light to reflect off the vehicle and return to the gun. Because the speed of light is known, the distance to the vehicle can be calculated, and changes in distance over time reveal the vehicle's speed. The accuracy of these guns stems from the incredible speed and consistency of the laser light.
