A femtosecond is one quadrillionth of a second. 10E-15 sec. Light will travel 30 millionths of a centimeter in one femtosecond!

A note to add to Halcyon&on's note on the femtosecond. That distance is dependent on the index of refraction for the media through which the light is traveling. The figure that you have quoted is for light traveling in a vacuum.

So that no one will think this pedantic: so-called Bose Einstein Condensates have been created in laboratories that have indices of refraction which effectively slow the speed of light from 3E8 m/s (in vacuum) to about 35 miles per hour. Information on these materials is widely available on the web.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.