Sunday, August 05, 2012
Modern speed
Someone was explaining how the Mars Rover's landing tonight will be heard 7 minutes after it happens.
Strikes me that this explanation is much less necessary now than it would have been in 1950.
The speed of light hasn't changed, of course! But in 1950 our systems were much more localized, which meant we never had a chance to experience the delay of finite signal speed. When the announcer on an AM station said "At the tone, the time will be 6:00" you could set your clock to the second. When you talked on the phone, the response was instant and crystal-clear. You could send mail in the morning to a resident of your city, and he would get the letter the same afternoon. (Two deliveries per day!)
Now everything is funneled into vast central repositories at vast distances, where it's digitally processed, held, and multiplexed. We're accustomed to slight delays and terrible quality in phone conversations. We're accustomed to hearing 5 or 6 second delays in satellite conversations on TV. We assume mail will take 5 or 6 days to reach a neighbor, if it reaches him at all.
Mush is slow as molasses. ¶ 4:52 PM
Strikes me that this explanation is much less necessary now than it would have been in 1950.
The speed of light hasn't changed, of course! But in 1950 our systems were much more localized, which meant we never had a chance to experience the delay of finite signal speed. When the announcer on an AM station said "At the tone, the time will be 6:00" you could set your clock to the second. When you talked on the phone, the response was instant and crystal-clear. You could send mail in the morning to a resident of your city, and he would get the letter the same afternoon. (Two deliveries per day!)
Now everything is funneled into vast central repositories at vast distances, where it's digitally processed, held, and multiplexed. We're accustomed to slight delays and terrible quality in phone conversations. We're accustomed to hearing 5 or 6 second delays in satellite conversations on TV. We assume mail will take 5 or 6 days to reach a neighbor, if it reaches him at all.
Mush is slow as molasses. ¶ 4:52 PM
