Science: Time Change

For years scientists relied upon the speed of light, placed at 186,271 miles per second, as a trustworthy measuring stick. From time to time this value has been questioned. Last year a member of the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey checked, found the speed to be slightly higher: 186,281 m.p.s. (TIME, Oct. 10,1949).

This week the British Department of Scientific and Industrial Research announced another reading made by Dr. Louis Essen: 186,282 m.p.s.

Alvin G. McNish of the Bureau of Standards took the news calmly. Said he: “The exact speed is something only God . . . can determine.” The bureau, he added, does not include the velocity of light in its list of official standards.