Novel where the speed of light is comparable to the speed of sound

The name of the pictureThe name of the pictureThe name of the pictureClash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP





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I am trying to discover the name of a book recommended to me by my school physics teacher some 48 years ago. The premise of the book is that the proponents visit a world where the speed of light is comparable to the speed of sound and how this affects all aspects of life.










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  • Do you remember anything else about this you can edit in like how it affects life or did you just get told a basic overview?
    – TheLethalCarrot
    59 mins ago










  • I am fairly sure they only calculated the speed of speed much later. Thunder and lightning would not have been different entities.
    – Raptor
    58 mins ago











  • More detail is needed; I can think of at least two potential answers to this, one of which was written as an accessible explanation to young people, the other a SF novel where the slow speed of light was an important plot point, but the story not intended as educational.
    – Jeff Zeitlin
    53 mins ago






  • 2




    George Gamow's Mr Tompkins in Wonderland (1939) immediately comes to mind, though the speed of light there is a mere 10 mph.
    – Klaus Æ. Mogensen
    43 mins ago
















up vote
6
down vote

favorite












I am trying to discover the name of a book recommended to me by my school physics teacher some 48 years ago. The premise of the book is that the proponents visit a world where the speed of light is comparable to the speed of sound and how this affects all aspects of life.










share|improve this question









New contributor




c021752c is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.



















  • Do you remember anything else about this you can edit in like how it affects life or did you just get told a basic overview?
    – TheLethalCarrot
    59 mins ago










  • I am fairly sure they only calculated the speed of speed much later. Thunder and lightning would not have been different entities.
    – Raptor
    58 mins ago











  • More detail is needed; I can think of at least two potential answers to this, one of which was written as an accessible explanation to young people, the other a SF novel where the slow speed of light was an important plot point, but the story not intended as educational.
    – Jeff Zeitlin
    53 mins ago






  • 2




    George Gamow's Mr Tompkins in Wonderland (1939) immediately comes to mind, though the speed of light there is a mere 10 mph.
    – Klaus Æ. Mogensen
    43 mins ago












up vote
6
down vote

favorite









up vote
6
down vote

favorite











I am trying to discover the name of a book recommended to me by my school physics teacher some 48 years ago. The premise of the book is that the proponents visit a world where the speed of light is comparable to the speed of sound and how this affects all aspects of life.










share|improve this question









New contributor




c021752c is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











I am trying to discover the name of a book recommended to me by my school physics teacher some 48 years ago. The premise of the book is that the proponents visit a world where the speed of light is comparable to the speed of sound and how this affects all aspects of life.







story-identification novel speed-of-light






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edited 59 mins ago









TheLethalCarrot

34.2k14189232




34.2k14189232






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asked 1 hour ago









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  • Do you remember anything else about this you can edit in like how it affects life or did you just get told a basic overview?
    – TheLethalCarrot
    59 mins ago










  • I am fairly sure they only calculated the speed of speed much later. Thunder and lightning would not have been different entities.
    – Raptor
    58 mins ago











  • More detail is needed; I can think of at least two potential answers to this, one of which was written as an accessible explanation to young people, the other a SF novel where the slow speed of light was an important plot point, but the story not intended as educational.
    – Jeff Zeitlin
    53 mins ago






  • 2




    George Gamow's Mr Tompkins in Wonderland (1939) immediately comes to mind, though the speed of light there is a mere 10 mph.
    – Klaus Æ. Mogensen
    43 mins ago
















  • Do you remember anything else about this you can edit in like how it affects life or did you just get told a basic overview?
    – TheLethalCarrot
    59 mins ago










  • I am fairly sure they only calculated the speed of speed much later. Thunder and lightning would not have been different entities.
    – Raptor
    58 mins ago











  • More detail is needed; I can think of at least two potential answers to this, one of which was written as an accessible explanation to young people, the other a SF novel where the slow speed of light was an important plot point, but the story not intended as educational.
    – Jeff Zeitlin
    53 mins ago






  • 2




    George Gamow's Mr Tompkins in Wonderland (1939) immediately comes to mind, though the speed of light there is a mere 10 mph.
    – Klaus Æ. Mogensen
    43 mins ago















Do you remember anything else about this you can edit in like how it affects life or did you just get told a basic overview?
– TheLethalCarrot
59 mins ago




Do you remember anything else about this you can edit in like how it affects life or did you just get told a basic overview?
– TheLethalCarrot
59 mins ago












I am fairly sure they only calculated the speed of speed much later. Thunder and lightning would not have been different entities.
– Raptor
58 mins ago





I am fairly sure they only calculated the speed of speed much later. Thunder and lightning would not have been different entities.
– Raptor
58 mins ago













More detail is needed; I can think of at least two potential answers to this, one of which was written as an accessible explanation to young people, the other a SF novel where the slow speed of light was an important plot point, but the story not intended as educational.
– Jeff Zeitlin
53 mins ago




More detail is needed; I can think of at least two potential answers to this, one of which was written as an accessible explanation to young people, the other a SF novel where the slow speed of light was an important plot point, but the story not intended as educational.
– Jeff Zeitlin
53 mins ago




2




2




George Gamow's Mr Tompkins in Wonderland (1939) immediately comes to mind, though the speed of light there is a mere 10 mph.
– Klaus Æ. Mogensen
43 mins ago




George Gamow's Mr Tompkins in Wonderland (1939) immediately comes to mind, though the speed of light there is a mere 10 mph.
– Klaus Æ. Mogensen
43 mins ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes

















up vote
6
down vote



accepted










Could this be Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland from 1939? After attending a lecture on relativity the protagonist dreams that he enters a fantastical world where light moves at fraction of the speed of sound.




When he opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting not on a
lecture room bench but on one of the benches installed by the city
for the convenience of passengers waiting for a bus. It was a
beautiful old city with medieval college buildings lining the street.
He suspected that he must be dreaming but to his surprise there was
nothing unusual happening around him; even a policeman standing on
the opposite corner looked as policemen usually do. The hands of the
big clock on the tower down the street were pointing to five o’clock
and the streets were nearly empty. A single cyclist was coming slowly
down the street and, as he approached, Mr Tompkins’s eyes opened wide
with astonishment. For the bicycle and the young man on it were
unbelievably shortened in the direction of the motion, as if seen
through a cylindrical lens. The clock on the tower struck five, and
the cyclist, evidently in a hurry, stepped harder on the pedals. Mr
Tompkins did not notice that he gained much in speed, but, as the
result of his effort, he shortened still more and went down the
street looking exactly like a picture cut out of cardboard.



Archive.Org - Full Text available here







share|improve this answer




















  • That was my first thought, too, but the speed of light in the book is only 10 mph - far less than the speed of sound. Even bicycling introduces noticeable relativistic effects.
    – Klaus Æ. Mogensen
    39 mins ago










  • @KlausÆ.Mogensen - Sound is mentioned on multiple occasions in the story though. "Also, if you move, say in a car, to meet the sound propagating through the air, the velocity of the sound as measured in the car will be larger by the amount of your driving speed, or it will be correspondingly small if the sound is overtaking you. We call it the theorem of addition of velocities and it was always held to be self- evident.", etc. Certainly it's mentioned enough that OP may have forgotten the difference in the intervening five decades
    – Valorum
    37 mins ago











  • This sounds exactly like I remember, indeed the example given of the cyclist is one I remember him quoting. Thank you very much, now I just need to find a copy!
    – c021752c
    32 mins ago






  • 1




    @c021752c since you've confirmed this is the right answer, you can accept it by clicking on the checkmark button on the left :)
    – Jenayah
    30 mins ago

















up vote
2
down vote













This could be Redshift Rendezvous by John E. Stith. When the titular starship Redshift is in hyperspace, the artificial black hole at its core, combined with the reduction of lightspeed in hyperspace, means the speed of sound is a quick run, while the speed of light is only several times that figure. Time dilation effects can vary noticeably between your head and your feet, you must wear a lifebelt to keep your nerve impulses fast enough to sustain life, and your watch will never agree with any other clock until you reset it after leaving hyperspace.



And in this bizarre environment, someone or something is killing people...






share|improve this answer




















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    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

    votes








    2 Answers
    2






    active

    oldest

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    active

    oldest

    votes






    active

    oldest

    votes








    up vote
    6
    down vote



    accepted










    Could this be Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland from 1939? After attending a lecture on relativity the protagonist dreams that he enters a fantastical world where light moves at fraction of the speed of sound.




    When he opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting not on a
    lecture room bench but on one of the benches installed by the city
    for the convenience of passengers waiting for a bus. It was a
    beautiful old city with medieval college buildings lining the street.
    He suspected that he must be dreaming but to his surprise there was
    nothing unusual happening around him; even a policeman standing on
    the opposite corner looked as policemen usually do. The hands of the
    big clock on the tower down the street were pointing to five o’clock
    and the streets were nearly empty. A single cyclist was coming slowly
    down the street and, as he approached, Mr Tompkins’s eyes opened wide
    with astonishment. For the bicycle and the young man on it were
    unbelievably shortened in the direction of the motion, as if seen
    through a cylindrical lens. The clock on the tower struck five, and
    the cyclist, evidently in a hurry, stepped harder on the pedals. Mr
    Tompkins did not notice that he gained much in speed, but, as the
    result of his effort, he shortened still more and went down the
    street looking exactly like a picture cut out of cardboard.



    Archive.Org - Full Text available here







    share|improve this answer




















    • That was my first thought, too, but the speed of light in the book is only 10 mph - far less than the speed of sound. Even bicycling introduces noticeable relativistic effects.
      – Klaus Æ. Mogensen
      39 mins ago










    • @KlausÆ.Mogensen - Sound is mentioned on multiple occasions in the story though. "Also, if you move, say in a car, to meet the sound propagating through the air, the velocity of the sound as measured in the car will be larger by the amount of your driving speed, or it will be correspondingly small if the sound is overtaking you. We call it the theorem of addition of velocities and it was always held to be self- evident.", etc. Certainly it's mentioned enough that OP may have forgotten the difference in the intervening five decades
      – Valorum
      37 mins ago











    • This sounds exactly like I remember, indeed the example given of the cyclist is one I remember him quoting. Thank you very much, now I just need to find a copy!
      – c021752c
      32 mins ago






    • 1




      @c021752c since you've confirmed this is the right answer, you can accept it by clicking on the checkmark button on the left :)
      – Jenayah
      30 mins ago














    up vote
    6
    down vote



    accepted










    Could this be Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland from 1939? After attending a lecture on relativity the protagonist dreams that he enters a fantastical world where light moves at fraction of the speed of sound.




    When he opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting not on a
    lecture room bench but on one of the benches installed by the city
    for the convenience of passengers waiting for a bus. It was a
    beautiful old city with medieval college buildings lining the street.
    He suspected that he must be dreaming but to his surprise there was
    nothing unusual happening around him; even a policeman standing on
    the opposite corner looked as policemen usually do. The hands of the
    big clock on the tower down the street were pointing to five o’clock
    and the streets were nearly empty. A single cyclist was coming slowly
    down the street and, as he approached, Mr Tompkins’s eyes opened wide
    with astonishment. For the bicycle and the young man on it were
    unbelievably shortened in the direction of the motion, as if seen
    through a cylindrical lens. The clock on the tower struck five, and
    the cyclist, evidently in a hurry, stepped harder on the pedals. Mr
    Tompkins did not notice that he gained much in speed, but, as the
    result of his effort, he shortened still more and went down the
    street looking exactly like a picture cut out of cardboard.



    Archive.Org - Full Text available here







    share|improve this answer




















    • That was my first thought, too, but the speed of light in the book is only 10 mph - far less than the speed of sound. Even bicycling introduces noticeable relativistic effects.
      – Klaus Æ. Mogensen
      39 mins ago










    • @KlausÆ.Mogensen - Sound is mentioned on multiple occasions in the story though. "Also, if you move, say in a car, to meet the sound propagating through the air, the velocity of the sound as measured in the car will be larger by the amount of your driving speed, or it will be correspondingly small if the sound is overtaking you. We call it the theorem of addition of velocities and it was always held to be self- evident.", etc. Certainly it's mentioned enough that OP may have forgotten the difference in the intervening five decades
      – Valorum
      37 mins ago











    • This sounds exactly like I remember, indeed the example given of the cyclist is one I remember him quoting. Thank you very much, now I just need to find a copy!
      – c021752c
      32 mins ago






    • 1




      @c021752c since you've confirmed this is the right answer, you can accept it by clicking on the checkmark button on the left :)
      – Jenayah
      30 mins ago












    up vote
    6
    down vote



    accepted







    up vote
    6
    down vote



    accepted






    Could this be Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland from 1939? After attending a lecture on relativity the protagonist dreams that he enters a fantastical world where light moves at fraction of the speed of sound.




    When he opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting not on a
    lecture room bench but on one of the benches installed by the city
    for the convenience of passengers waiting for a bus. It was a
    beautiful old city with medieval college buildings lining the street.
    He suspected that he must be dreaming but to his surprise there was
    nothing unusual happening around him; even a policeman standing on
    the opposite corner looked as policemen usually do. The hands of the
    big clock on the tower down the street were pointing to five o’clock
    and the streets were nearly empty. A single cyclist was coming slowly
    down the street and, as he approached, Mr Tompkins’s eyes opened wide
    with astonishment. For the bicycle and the young man on it were
    unbelievably shortened in the direction of the motion, as if seen
    through a cylindrical lens. The clock on the tower struck five, and
    the cyclist, evidently in a hurry, stepped harder on the pedals. Mr
    Tompkins did not notice that he gained much in speed, but, as the
    result of his effort, he shortened still more and went down the
    street looking exactly like a picture cut out of cardboard.



    Archive.Org - Full Text available here







    share|improve this answer












    Could this be Mr. Tompkins in Wonderland from 1939? After attending a lecture on relativity the protagonist dreams that he enters a fantastical world where light moves at fraction of the speed of sound.




    When he opened his eyes again, he found himself sitting not on a
    lecture room bench but on one of the benches installed by the city
    for the convenience of passengers waiting for a bus. It was a
    beautiful old city with medieval college buildings lining the street.
    He suspected that he must be dreaming but to his surprise there was
    nothing unusual happening around him; even a policeman standing on
    the opposite corner looked as policemen usually do. The hands of the
    big clock on the tower down the street were pointing to five o’clock
    and the streets were nearly empty. A single cyclist was coming slowly
    down the street and, as he approached, Mr Tompkins’s eyes opened wide
    with astonishment. For the bicycle and the young man on it were
    unbelievably shortened in the direction of the motion, as if seen
    through a cylindrical lens. The clock on the tower struck five, and
    the cyclist, evidently in a hurry, stepped harder on the pedals. Mr
    Tompkins did not notice that he gained much in speed, but, as the
    result of his effort, he shortened still more and went down the
    street looking exactly like a picture cut out of cardboard.



    Archive.Org - Full Text available here








    share|improve this answer












    share|improve this answer



    share|improve this answer










    answered 43 mins ago









    Valorum

    381k10027783013




    381k10027783013











    • That was my first thought, too, but the speed of light in the book is only 10 mph - far less than the speed of sound. Even bicycling introduces noticeable relativistic effects.
      – Klaus Æ. Mogensen
      39 mins ago










    • @KlausÆ.Mogensen - Sound is mentioned on multiple occasions in the story though. "Also, if you move, say in a car, to meet the sound propagating through the air, the velocity of the sound as measured in the car will be larger by the amount of your driving speed, or it will be correspondingly small if the sound is overtaking you. We call it the theorem of addition of velocities and it was always held to be self- evident.", etc. Certainly it's mentioned enough that OP may have forgotten the difference in the intervening five decades
      – Valorum
      37 mins ago











    • This sounds exactly like I remember, indeed the example given of the cyclist is one I remember him quoting. Thank you very much, now I just need to find a copy!
      – c021752c
      32 mins ago






    • 1




      @c021752c since you've confirmed this is the right answer, you can accept it by clicking on the checkmark button on the left :)
      – Jenayah
      30 mins ago
















    • That was my first thought, too, but the speed of light in the book is only 10 mph - far less than the speed of sound. Even bicycling introduces noticeable relativistic effects.
      – Klaus Æ. Mogensen
      39 mins ago










    • @KlausÆ.Mogensen - Sound is mentioned on multiple occasions in the story though. "Also, if you move, say in a car, to meet the sound propagating through the air, the velocity of the sound as measured in the car will be larger by the amount of your driving speed, or it will be correspondingly small if the sound is overtaking you. We call it the theorem of addition of velocities and it was always held to be self- evident.", etc. Certainly it's mentioned enough that OP may have forgotten the difference in the intervening five decades
      – Valorum
      37 mins ago











    • This sounds exactly like I remember, indeed the example given of the cyclist is one I remember him quoting. Thank you very much, now I just need to find a copy!
      – c021752c
      32 mins ago






    • 1




      @c021752c since you've confirmed this is the right answer, you can accept it by clicking on the checkmark button on the left :)
      – Jenayah
      30 mins ago















    That was my first thought, too, but the speed of light in the book is only 10 mph - far less than the speed of sound. Even bicycling introduces noticeable relativistic effects.
    – Klaus Æ. Mogensen
    39 mins ago




    That was my first thought, too, but the speed of light in the book is only 10 mph - far less than the speed of sound. Even bicycling introduces noticeable relativistic effects.
    – Klaus Æ. Mogensen
    39 mins ago












    @KlausÆ.Mogensen - Sound is mentioned on multiple occasions in the story though. "Also, if you move, say in a car, to meet the sound propagating through the air, the velocity of the sound as measured in the car will be larger by the amount of your driving speed, or it will be correspondingly small if the sound is overtaking you. We call it the theorem of addition of velocities and it was always held to be self- evident.", etc. Certainly it's mentioned enough that OP may have forgotten the difference in the intervening five decades
    – Valorum
    37 mins ago





    @KlausÆ.Mogensen - Sound is mentioned on multiple occasions in the story though. "Also, if you move, say in a car, to meet the sound propagating through the air, the velocity of the sound as measured in the car will be larger by the amount of your driving speed, or it will be correspondingly small if the sound is overtaking you. We call it the theorem of addition of velocities and it was always held to be self- evident.", etc. Certainly it's mentioned enough that OP may have forgotten the difference in the intervening five decades
    – Valorum
    37 mins ago













    This sounds exactly like I remember, indeed the example given of the cyclist is one I remember him quoting. Thank you very much, now I just need to find a copy!
    – c021752c
    32 mins ago




    This sounds exactly like I remember, indeed the example given of the cyclist is one I remember him quoting. Thank you very much, now I just need to find a copy!
    – c021752c
    32 mins ago




    1




    1




    @c021752c since you've confirmed this is the right answer, you can accept it by clicking on the checkmark button on the left :)
    – Jenayah
    30 mins ago




    @c021752c since you've confirmed this is the right answer, you can accept it by clicking on the checkmark button on the left :)
    – Jenayah
    30 mins ago












    up vote
    2
    down vote













    This could be Redshift Rendezvous by John E. Stith. When the titular starship Redshift is in hyperspace, the artificial black hole at its core, combined with the reduction of lightspeed in hyperspace, means the speed of sound is a quick run, while the speed of light is only several times that figure. Time dilation effects can vary noticeably between your head and your feet, you must wear a lifebelt to keep your nerve impulses fast enough to sustain life, and your watch will never agree with any other clock until you reset it after leaving hyperspace.



    And in this bizarre environment, someone or something is killing people...






    share|improve this answer
























      up vote
      2
      down vote













      This could be Redshift Rendezvous by John E. Stith. When the titular starship Redshift is in hyperspace, the artificial black hole at its core, combined with the reduction of lightspeed in hyperspace, means the speed of sound is a quick run, while the speed of light is only several times that figure. Time dilation effects can vary noticeably between your head and your feet, you must wear a lifebelt to keep your nerve impulses fast enough to sustain life, and your watch will never agree with any other clock until you reset it after leaving hyperspace.



      And in this bizarre environment, someone or something is killing people...






      share|improve this answer






















        up vote
        2
        down vote










        up vote
        2
        down vote









        This could be Redshift Rendezvous by John E. Stith. When the titular starship Redshift is in hyperspace, the artificial black hole at its core, combined with the reduction of lightspeed in hyperspace, means the speed of sound is a quick run, while the speed of light is only several times that figure. Time dilation effects can vary noticeably between your head and your feet, you must wear a lifebelt to keep your nerve impulses fast enough to sustain life, and your watch will never agree with any other clock until you reset it after leaving hyperspace.



        And in this bizarre environment, someone or something is killing people...






        share|improve this answer












        This could be Redshift Rendezvous by John E. Stith. When the titular starship Redshift is in hyperspace, the artificial black hole at its core, combined with the reduction of lightspeed in hyperspace, means the speed of sound is a quick run, while the speed of light is only several times that figure. Time dilation effects can vary noticeably between your head and your feet, you must wear a lifebelt to keep your nerve impulses fast enough to sustain life, and your watch will never agree with any other clock until you reset it after leaving hyperspace.



        And in this bizarre environment, someone or something is killing people...







        share|improve this answer












        share|improve this answer



        share|improve this answer










        answered 33 mins ago









        Zeiss Ikon

        7,91111445




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