Here's a science problem for you. How would you use a microwave oven and some chocolate to measure the speed of light? I have to admit that when I saw the mention of this science experiment on slashdot.org I spent some time trying to figure out how they did this before jumping to the Web site Measure the Speed of Light with Chocolate and A Microwave. Before visiting the site, can you imagine how they do it?
The procedure turned out to be a lot simpler than I'd expected, so I'll give you a clue. Suppose you already know the speed of light and want to measure the frequency of the microwave oven. How would you go about that using the chocolate?
If you are still puzzling over this one, remember that the frequency can be determined by dividing the wavelength into the speed of light. Knowing two of these items allows you to calculate the third. If you know how to measure the wavelength of the signal from a microwave oven using a plate of chocolate and you know its frequency (around 2,500 MHz), you can calculate the speed of light.
Need more practical details? Read Measure the Speed of Light with Chocolate and A Microwave and find out!
