Stone to Silicon

Math & science · 1676

Finite speed of light

Timing Io's eclipses, Romer shows that light takes time to travel.

Eclipses of Jupiter's moon ran up to 22 minutes late when Jupiter was farther away. Light's finite speed later became the cornerstone constant of relativity.

See it in the living treeWikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 2

What it led to 1