Visualizing the Speed of Light and Speed of Sound

In this animation we will compare the speed of light (the images of objects that reach our eyes) to the speed of sound. We will also look at some everyday examples of where the discrepancy between these two speeds are visible. I hope this video gives you a great understanding of the two speeds. Thanks for watching and please consider subscribing for more!!

Note:
Speed of sound is based on observations in dry air at 20°C
Speed of light is based on observations in vacuum
Distances between earth, sun and the moon vary throughout the year.
The size and distance of the planets are to scale

Edit: Speed of sound would take ~18,678 minutes to get from earth to the moon. Around 13 days.

[luois]

In Paris actually sound is faster than light, you will hear the horn of the car behind you before the light turns green

[rickjones]

You can tell the speed of light is much faster than the speed of sound. Some people appear bright until you hear them talk.

[FYGHT]

One of my favorite examples is hearing fireworks. I find it so interesting how you can be a couple hundred feet away from a firework and you still notice a delay between the explosion and the sound.

[paull]

1:14 Remember, the speed of sound is not always the same, it varies greatly with temperature and slightly with humidity and air pressure. On a chilly winter morning, which is about 14°F (-10°C), sound will only travel about 325 meters per second, +/- 1 meter per second depending on other factors. But on a hot summer day, which is about 95°F (35°C), sound will travel about 352 meters per second, +/- 2 meters per second depending on other factors.

[mateny.]

Good job on the video. But I'm surprised, that there is no mention of the thunderstorm. I think that's the situation most people experiense the difference in the speed of light and sound.

[RH-xsgz]

The amazing thing is, that on astronomical scales, even light is slow.

[rollinrobo]

One of my favourite examples is when you go to watch a live band in a large venue, and you're sitting in one of the upper levels of the venue, and you look down at the people jumping in the mosh pit. There's always a noticeable 'wave' effect as the people are jumping and the ones near the stage hear the sound before the people further away from the stage.

[charlesash]

I subscribed to this channel for 2 reasons:

1) Your animations and explanations are clear and concise.
2) You use metric units in all your measurements, and you don't cause the rest of the world to want to gouge out their eyeballs from sheer frustration by using miles, yards, feet and other incomprehensible primitive imperial gobbledygook. Thank you for moving science forward.

[CarlSolovox]

The best example I've heard: If you were sitting in the outfield upper-deck stands at a baseball stadium, and you were also watching the same game's live telecast on a portable television, you would hear the crack of the bat on the television before you heard it from where you were sitting. Meaning the broadcast signal left the stadium, got processed and converted into a signal that was then beamed to an orbiting satellite...then back down to a transmitting tower, and then to the screen and speaker in your tv...all before the sound from the bat reached you from five hundred feet.

[TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

Just think how fast the speed of light is and how far light can travel continuously for a year. Now imagine traveling at the speed of light for decades and we’d barely be able to explore a portion of our galaxy. It’s just mind blowing how incomprehensibly large this universe is.

[ruthlessrubberducky]

Props to you actually animating a bullet correctly (separates from casing) and specifying caliber (massive velocity differences) of such a bullet. Can't tell you how many people mess this up while trying to look smart and throw out numbers. Credibility went way up for me to see you do the actual research and math.

[timpie]

A real-life example that fascinated me as a child, and whereupon my father explained to me the difference between the speed of sound and the speed of light: I was sitting outside our front door watching some kids playing soccer on the playground across the street when I noticed that the impact of the ball on the grass and the sound of it were out of sync. I remember to this day - almost 30 years later my father's explanation. A true childhood moment.

[lemmiix]

2:51 this feels so real. Shows how important sound design is for movies/games/etc.

[FirstMomentsOf]

Props to the camera man who went all the way from earth to the sun and back.

[turmat]

I learnt this as a kid when I saw soccer players play in the park from a distance. Sometimes when they kicked really hard you could hear the thump from far away. I could see the delay between the visible kick and the thump. Kindof like an apple falling on your head moment.

[mattd]

The most mind-blowing thing to me is that in cosmic terms, even light is slow. That's why we must go right to LUDICROUS SPEED if we want to to actually explore the universe.

[chicobicalho]

For me lightning and thunder are the perfect examples to illustrate this point. One funny aspect of this difference is related to sheppards and the dogs that obey their command by hearing different kinds of whistles. When the distance becomes really great, the sheppards have to keep in mind that the dogs will hear the sound of the whistling with a delay, so the human has to predict the movement of the sheep herd ahead of time, keeping in mind the sound of the whistle will be received by the dog with a delay of two or more seconds, and this involves a lot of knowlege, experience, and technique beyond the traditional herding!

[feeberizer]

I live close to railroad tracks. I love hearing the Doppler Shift at night because the air is usually quieter and denser, and the effect is so much more distinct. Having the floor in my apartment jiggle like Jell-O because it's a silt river valley is also fun.

[acer-star]

The background music is a great choice. Perfect animation documentary

[lazedimovski]

This is the first Chanel I instantly sign to after finish watching the video. Great job!