1.

The metre is defined as the distance travelled by light in 1299, 792, 458second. Why didn’t people choose some easier number such as 1300, 000, 000second? Why not 1 second?

Answer»

The speed of light in vacuum is 299,792,458 m/s.

Then time taken by light to cover a distance of 1 metre in vacuum = 1299, 792, 458s

Hence, the metre is defined as the distance travelled by light in 1299, 792, 458s.

As 300,000,000 m/s is an approximate speed of light in vacuum, it cannot be used to define the metre.

The distance travelled by light in one second is 299,792,458 m. This is a large quantity and cannot be used as a base unit. So, the metre is not defined in terms of second.



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