Foucault's method in new settings

TL;DR

This paper presents two accessible, low-cost adaptations of Foucault's method for measuring the speed of light, achieving results within 1% of the known value using simple equipment and data analysis.

Contribution

It introduces novel, inexpensive implementations of Foucault's method suitable for educational settings, demonstrating accurate measurements with minimal laboratory space and resources.

Findings

Measured speed of light within 1% of the known value

Used simple, readily available laboratory items and a webcam

Prepared students for large data analysis tasks

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce two simple and inexpensive versions of the well-known Foucault method for measuring the speed of light. In a footprint of just 20 cm by 270 cm with readily available laboratory items and a webcam, we obtained $c=296720\pm3000$ km/s, and $c=302295\pm3000$ km/s, respectively, both within less than a per cent of the defined value. The experiment also prepares students to work with large amounts of data.