Q.Light year is equal to (A) 9.46 x 10^15 m
(B) 9.46 x 10^12 m
(C) 9.46 x 10^8 m
(D) 9.46 x 10^10 m

Both statements are true, and the formula in R is exactly why speed is wavelength-independent.

Assertion is correct: in vacuum every electromagnetic wave, regardless of wavelength, travels at the same speed $c$ (vacuum is non-dispersive for EM waves). Reason is also correct: $c=\dfrac{1}{\sqrt{\mu_0\epsilon_0}}$, and since $\mu_0$ and $\epsilon_0$ are constants of free space (not functions of wavelength or frequency), t …

The product $\mu\varepsilon$ has dimensions of $[T^2 L^{-2}]$, so $(\mu\varepsilon)^{-1}$ has dimensions of velocity squared: $[L^2 T^{-2}]$. The answer is (B).

Maxwell showed that combining the wave equations for E and B derived from his equations in free space gives a wave speed c = 1/sqrt(mu0 epsilon0), which matched the known speed of light and led him to conclude light itself is an electromagnetic wave.

From Maxwell's equations in vacuum, the electric and magnetic fields each satisfy a wave equation with speed:

c = 1 / sqrt(mu0 epsilon0)

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Since $1/\sqrt{\mu_0\varepsilon_0}=c$ (the speed of light), $1/(\mu_0\varepsilon_0)=c^2$, whose dimension is $[L^2T^{-2}]$.

Working

Maxwell's relation gives the speed of electromagnetic waves in vacuum as

$c = \dfrac{1}{\sqrt{\mu_0\varepsilon_0}}$

Squaring both sides:

$c^2 = \dfrac{1}{\mu_0\varepsilon_0}$

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1 light year = c × (1 year) ≈ 3×10⁸ m/s × 3.15×10⁷ s ≈ 9.46 × 10¹⁵ m.

A light year is the distance travelled by light (an electromagnetic wave) in vacuum in one year.

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Maxwell's equations predict that electromagnetic waves travel in free space at a speed fixed by the permeability and permittivity of free space.

From Maxwell's electromagnetic wave equation, the speed of an electromagnetic wave in free space (vacuum) is

$c = \frac{1}{\sqrt{\mu_0 \varepsilon_0}}$ …

Speed of light in a medium is $v=c/n$; water has $n>1$, so speed decreases relative to air.

The speed of an electromagnetic wave in a medium is $v = \dfrac{c}{n}$, where $n$ is the refractive index of that medium. Water has a refractive index greater than that of air ($n_{water}\approx1.33 > n_{air}\approx1$), so the speed of th …

Maxwell showed that the speed of light equals $1/\sqrt{\mu_0\varepsilon_0}$, one of the great unifications of physics.

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A light year is a unit of distance, not time.

Despite the word 'year', a light year is the distance travelled by light (speed c ≈ 3 × 10⁸ m/s) in one year:

$1\ \text{light year} = c \times (1\ \text{year}) \approx 9.46 \times 10^{15}\ \text{m}$

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The speed of an EM wave in free space comes directly from Maxwell's equations and equals $c = 1/\sqrt{\varepsilon_0\mu_0}$.

Maxwell's equations predict electromagnetic waves travelling in vacuum with speed:

$v = \frac{1}{\sqrt{\varepsilon_0 \mu_0}}$ …

Gamma rays, X-rays and microwaves are all part of the same electromagnetic spectrum, and every electromagnetic wave travels at the speed of light c in vacuum, independent of its frequency.

Gamma rays, X-rays, and microwaves differ enormously in frequency and wavelength (gamma rays have the shortest wavelength/highest frequency, microwaves the longest wavelength/lowest frequency among these three), but they are all transverse electromagnetic waves consisting of oscillating electric and magnetic fields. A defining property of electromagnetic waves derived from Maxwell's equations is that in vacuum they all propagate at the same universal speed, …