A one-way speed of light experiment

✍ Scribed by Greaves, E. D.; Rodríguez, An Michel; Ruiz-Camacho, J.

• Book ID: 121747988
• Publisher: American Institute of Physics
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 432 KB
• Volume: 77
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0002-9505
• DOI: 10.1119/1.3160665

✦ Synopsis

A recently proposed experiment that demonstrates the feasibility of carrying out a one-way measurement of the speed of light was performed using a time of flight technique. A single oscillator amplitude modulates a He–Ne laser beam, which transverses a distance to a sensor. The output signal returns via a coaxial cable to a digital oscilloscope where the phase difference between the reference and the sensor signals is measured as a function of the distance traveled by the light. The results, within 0.4% of the accepted value of c, prove the feasibility of measuring the speed of light moving in one direction.