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Use the definition of the meter to determine how far light travels in exactly 1 ns. Express your answer in meters to three significant figures.

User Xbel
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Final answer:

Light travels approximately 0.300 meters in 1 nanosecond, based on the speed of light being exactly 299,792,458 meters per second.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is asking about the distance light travels in a specific amount of time, using the definition of the meter. According to the current definition, the speed of light in a vacuum is exactly 299,792,458 meters per second. To find out how far light travels in exactly 1 nanosecond (ns), which is 1 x 10-9 seconds, we use the equation:

Distance (meters) = Speed of Light (meters/second) x Time (seconds)

Therefore, the distance light travels in 1 ns are:

Distance = 299,792,458 m/s x 1 x 10-9 s = 0.299792458 meters

To three significant figures, this is approximately 0.300 meters.

User MindModel
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