Measuring the speed of light the old fashioned way: Replicating the Fizeau Apparatus

In 1849, the first terrestrial measurement of the seed of light was made by Hippolyte Fizeau using a bright focused lamp, a spinning slotted wheel, and a reflector a few kilometers away. This famous experiment is one that I've spent the better part of the last year thinking about and very slowly replicating! Using a 5mW green-dot laser sight, a "slotted disk" laser-cut from black posterboard, a speed-controlled dremel, a digital camera, and a full spool of retroreflective tape, I succeeded in measuring and calculating the speed of light! In this video I introduce and explain the theory behind the experiment, and actually perform the experiment to calculate a result. (You'll have to watch to see how close I got!)

An English translation of Fizeau's original (very short) paper: https://skullsinthestars.com/2008/03/31/fizeaus-experiment-the-original-paper/

Future videos in this series: -Repeat experiment with 10-mile round trip for the light -Mechanics of the Fizeau Apparatus (incl. wheel speed control and measurement) -Optics of the Fizeau Apparatus (incl. retroreflectors)

Music in this video: I Dunno by grapes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/) http://ccmixter.org/files/grapes/16626

[Original Score] by Wyatt W., used with permission ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMO9uUsjXaI