Description

This simulation shows how a laser rangefinder works.

Although light is very fast, it is not infintely fast and it travels at a constant speed. Laser rangefinders use this property to find out how far away something is by timing how long it takes a light ray to travel to its target and return. We can compute the distance to the target simply by taking the half of the transit time (because the light beam has traveled to the target AND back) and multiplying it by the speed of a light beem (distance / time). This simulation shows how that process works.

Purpose

Interactive simulation is an excellent tool for showing "how stuff works". The interactive, animated aspect encourages exploration and learning.

Features

• Digital display
  Simulation uses a digital LED style display to depict the precise amount of time that has elapsed as the laser beam travels to its target and back.