Stunning simulation shows what it would feel like to travel around the Earth at the speed of light

We live in a world where everything depends on time, whether it is our hefty schedules, racing deadlines, energy-consuming meetings or the weekend shopping rush hours. Imagine if all of these crucial moments intrinsic to our lives could actually pass within the blink of an eye. You might be wondering how that’s even possible. A viral video by Airplane Mode–who goes by @airplanemode101 on YouTube–will give you an answer to that. The creator has managed to recreate the speed with which light can travel around Earth and how it would look from a human perspective. The results are shocking as the simulation showed it completing a round trip from some of the busiest to the remotest corners of the planet in what has been claimed to be within 0.13 seconds.

The video starts with a black screen with a text overlay saying, “What would it look like to go around the Earth once at the speed of light?” Following this, it slowly transitions into two aerial shots suggesting the same; however, they turn out to be inaccurate. “Not even close,” another form of text displayed on the screen read. Then, the UK-based aviation content creators, who run the YouTube channel, spill some facts about the speed of light. “Light travels at 299,792,458 meters (300,000 kilometers) per second. It would take 0.13 seconds for light to complete one full trip around the Earth,” the overlay text further added. Then, the creator showed the “magic.”

It further showed how humans could see the entire journey. In not even the blink of an eye, the light starts its voyage from New York City (NYC) and reaches back there without leaving any traces of its trajectory. Thereafter, a slow-motion version of the entire light travel experience displayed it, cutting through parts of all seven continents. Starting from NYC and heading in a south-west direction, at first glance, the first two frames are of the Pacific Ocean. Then, one frame of Brisbane, Australia, and two frames of the Indian Ocean come into view.

The Saudi Arabian desert serves as the setting for the sixth frame, followed by a frame in Zimbabwe, Africa. The last frame closes the circle with the journey, arriving back in New York. The nearly two-and-a-half-minute video ends with a comparison of speed between light and sound. The video has managed to garner over 25 million views and 602K likes, with hundreds of people reacting to it.

@aumpatel2433 claimed, “What’s even crazier is that, despite how fast light is, the sun is so far away that it still takes 8 minutes and 20 seconds for sunlight to reach Earth.” @siddharthsr1 observed, “The fact that the Pacific Ocean took 2 frames says a lot about how massive it is.” @Whatisvr added, “Now imagine traveling this fast for a billion years straight and still not being able to reach the edge of the universe. Insane.” @TheBarlettano chimed in, “It really puts into perspective why thunders are so delayed compared to lightning.”

You can follow Airplane Mode (@airplanemode101) on YouTube for more science-related and aviation content.