At-home STEM Activities: Calculating the Speed of Light with a Microwave Oven

This week’s Distance Learning offerings are focusing on optics, light, and the electromagnetic spectrum.

It took scientists a really long time to calculate the speed of light—up until 1676 when Danish astronomer Ole Rømer provided the first calculation, scientists weren’t even sure if the speed of light was a finite number. But a few hundred years later, we can calculate the speed of light using not much more than a microwave oven, a bar of chocolate, and a ruler. Let’s try it for ourselves!