Final answer:
No, moving a laser spot across the Moon's surface at a speed greater than light does not violate modern relativity because the spot is not a physical object, but a series of points of light, each cast by different photons. Therefore, the correct answer is b) No, it does not violate relativity due to the Earth-Moon distance.
Step-by-step explanation:
If you use an Earth-based telescope to project a laser beam onto the Moon, moving the spot across the Moon's surface can indeed appear to move at a velocity greater than the speed of light. This, however, does not violate modern relativity. Albert Einstein's theory of relativity specifies that no information or physical object can exceed the speed of light in a vacuum.
The key point here is that when moving a laser spot across the Moon, no actual material object is traversing that distance; it is simply a projection that is moving. A single photon from the laser beam is not making the entire trip across the Moon's surface faster than light—it's a new photon each instance hitting the Moon's surface.
Another way to understand this is through analogy: if you shine a flashlight on a distant wall and flick your wrist, the spot of light can move across the wall faster than the speed of light. This doesn't violate relativity because the spot is not a physical object, but a series of light points cast by different photons.
Similarly, the movement of a laser spot on the Moon is the result of the angular motion of the laser pointer, compounded by the vast distance of the Moon from the Earth. As such, the correct answer is (b) 'No, it does not violate relativity due to the Earth-Moon distance.'
The speed of the moving spot is a product of the projection geometry and doesn't carry information or matter faster than light, hence this phenomenon does not constitute a violation of Einstein's relativity principles.