It can look dumb, but I always had this question as a kid, what physical principles would prevent this?

A 4 case drawing instruction for an obvious thinking experiment: first, get a torch and a 300'000km long unbreakable and unfoldable stick, then ask a lunar friend to get the other end of the stick, then push the stick and at the same time light the torch, and the lunar friend would feel the stick moving before seeing the light.
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[โ€“] 1 point 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 child)

The problem is that when you push an object, the push happens at the speed of sound in that object. It's very fast but not anywhere near the speed of light. If you tapped one end of the stick, you would hear it on the moon after the wave had traveled the distance.

For example, the speed of sound in wood is around 3,300 m/s so 384,400/3,300 ~= 32.36 hours to see the pole move on the moon after you tap it on earth.

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