🐢 What if light traveled at half its current speed?
Chemistry, stars and causality itself would be rewritten. Handle with care.
The science
The speed of light is woven into electromagnetism: changing c changes atomic energy levels, the fine-structure constant, and E = mc² itself (halving c quarters rest energy). This is no longer a simple 'what changes' question — it redefines the physics. Honest answer: no reliable simulation exists without specifying what else stays constant.
Immediate consequences (modelled)
In a toy model, all light-travel times double (Sunlight: ~16 min 40 s).
Possible long-term consequences (hypotheses)
Speculation only — clearly labelled as such. Established physics cannot answer without redefining fundamental constants.
Assumptions: Toy model: only travel time scales. Everything else is speculation.
Limitations: Does not model climate, geology, biology or engineering in full detail.
Reference: Discussions of varying-speed-of-light hypotheses (speculative)