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Speed of light

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Definition

The invariant speed of light in vacuum, c=299792458m/sc=299\,792\,458\,\mathrm{m/s} by definition.

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Role

Converts mass into energy units. Because cc is large, a small mass corresponds to a large rest energy.

Effect

EE scales with c2c^2, not cc. Doubling cc would quadruple the rest energy of every mass.

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