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In physics, it is often represented in equations by the letter '''c,''' as in
In physics, it is often represented in equations by the letter '''c,''' as in
:λ = c / f
:λ = c / f
(wavelength = the speed of light divided by frequency).
(wavelength of an electromagnetic wave in vacuum = the speed of light divided by the wave's frequency).
The speed of light is about one foot per nanosecond. The late computer pioneer Admiral Grace Hopper was fond of keeping foot-long lengths of wire in her purse; she used them as props for her talks, referring to them as "nanoseconds," and using them to explain how the speed of light set limitations on computing systems.<ref>Chiarella, Donald Joseph Gray (2002), ''Life in God's Management Corps,'' [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0595256430&id=VhM9jDwbywUC&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&ots=ZXHirs9jQI&dq=grace+hopper+nanosecond&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=XmbYtV2laxCMIKMLzR1eXHP1Eok p. 14]</ref>
The speed of light is about one foot per nanosecond. The late computer pioneer Admiral Grace Hopper was fond of keeping foot-long lengths of wire in her purse; she used them as props for her talks, referring to them as "nanoseconds," and using them to explain how the speed of light set limitations on computing systems.<ref>Chiarella, Donald Joseph Gray (2002), ''Life in God's Management Corps,'' [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0595256430&id=VhM9jDwbywUC&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&ots=ZXHirs9jQI&dq=grace+hopper+nanosecond&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=XmbYtV2laxCMIKMLzR1eXHP1Eok p. 14]</ref>