in seconds,
will be 300,000,000. Suppose, then, that the two signals, as measured from the embankment, are ten metres apart, and that the two light flashes are separated by an interval of one second. If these two events are viewed from a train travelling at the rate of ten metres a second, that is, at approximately 22 miles an hour, it will be possible for the observer in the train to pass before each of the two flashes just as they are produced, with the result that as referred to his train the two events will occur at the same spot. The time separation
of the two events as referred to the train will then be given by
(since
). Substituting our numerical values, we find
