Question

light in a vacuum travels at a speed of 3.00x10^8 m/s. Pluto's average distance from the sun is 3.6 billion miles. How many minutes will it take sunlight to reach Pluto?

Answer 1

Answer on Question #47701, Physics, Mechanics

Light in a vacuum travels at a speed of $3.00 \times 10^{8} \, \mathrm{m/s}$. Pluto's average distance from the sun is 3.6 billion miles. How many minutes will it take sunlight to reach Pluto?

Solution

The distance is equal to

$$L = 3.6 \cdot 10^{9} \, \mathrm{mi} = 1.609 \cdot 10^{3} \cdot 3.6 \cdot 10^{9} \, \mathrm{m} = 5.79 \cdot 10^{12} \, \mathrm{m},$$

so the time is

$$t = \frac{L}{v} = \frac{5.79 \cdot 10^{12} \, \mathrm{m}}{3 \cdot 10^{8} \, \mathrm{m/s}} = 1.93 \cdot 10^{4} \, \mathrm{s} \approx 322 \, \mathrm{min}$$

Answer: it will take 322 minutes.

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