Because Galaxies Are Billions of Light-Years Away, Isn't the Universe
Billions of Years Old? 5
Orbital clocks seem to be more accurate than the extremely precise
atomic clocks (13).
Many of us were skeptical of Setterfield's initial claim, because the
decrease in the speed-of-light measurements ceased in 1960. Large, one-
time changes seldom occur in nature. The measurement techniques were
precise enough to detect any decrease in the speed of light after
1960, if the trend of the prior three centuries had continued. Later,
Setterfield realized that beginning in the 1960s, atomic clocks were
used to measure the speed of light. If atomic frequencies are
decreasing, then both the measured quantity (the speed of light) and
the newly adopted measuring tool (atomic clocks) are changing at the
same rate. Naturally, no relative change would be detected, and the
speed of light would be constant in atomic time--but not orbital time.
Misconceptions. Does the decrease in the speed of light conflict with
the statement frequently attributed to Albert Einstein that the speed
of light is constant? Not really. Einstein said that the speed of
light was not altered by the velocity of the light's source.
Setterfield says that the speed of light decreases over time.
Einstein's statement that the speed of light is independent of the
velocity of the light source, is called Einstein's Second Postulate.
(Many have misinterpreted it to mean that "Einstein said the speed of
light is constant over time.") Einstein's Second Postulate is
surprising, but probably true. Wouldn't we expect a ball thrown from a
fast train in the forward direction to travel faster than one thrown
in the opposite direction, at least to an observer on the ground?
While that is true for a thrown ball, some experimental evidence
indicates it is not true for light (14).
13. "Precision" should not be confused with "accuracy." Atomic clocks
are very precise, but not necessarily accurate. They keep very
consistent time with each other, and each atomic clock can subdivide a
second into 9 billion parts. This is remarkable precision. But what if
this entire global network of atomic clocks is drifting--speeding up or
slowing down? Precision, while impressive, is a necessary but not
sufficient requirement for accuracy.
14. Kenneth Brecher, "Is the Speed of Light Independent of the
Velocity of the Source?" Physical Review Letters, Vol. 39, No. 17, 24
October 1977, pp. 1051-1054.
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