Speed of light fibre optic signals which travel 30–40% slower at the speed of light through glass. There are different ways to determine the value of "c". One way is to measure the actual speed at which light waves propagate, which can be done in various astronomical and earth-based setups. However, it is also possible to determine "c" from other physical laws where it appears, for example, by determining the values of the electromagnetic constants "ε" and "μ" and using their relation to "c". Historically, the most accurate results have been obtained by separately determining the frequency and wavelength of a light beam,
Speed of light parts per billion (), equivalent to the uncertainty in Earth-based measurements of length by interferometry. Since the metre is defined to be the length travelled by light in a certain time interval, the measurement of the light time in terms of the previous definition of the astronomical unit can also be interpreted as measuring the length of an AU (old definition) in metres. A method of measuring the speed of light is to measure the time needed for light to travel to a mirror at a known distance and back. This is the working principle behind the Fizeau–Foucault apparatus developed