Re: SR Postulate on Speed of Light

john_doe_ph_d@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
> I am confused by the typical wording that one finds for the second
> postulate of SR, namely that the speed of light is independent of the
> motion of the source. The speed of any wave depends only on the
medium,
> so the motion of the source is not relevent.

Thanks for the replies, but I don't think anyone has specifically
addressed the question that I asked. Let me rephrase it.

It's typical to find the second postulate of SR stated as follows: the
speed of light is independent of the motion of the source. Isn't the
speed of ANY wave independent of the source? Once the wave leaves the
source it doesn't "know" that it was created by a moving source and the
speed just depends on the properties of the medium. So why isn't the
above formulation of the second posulate considered a trivial
statement?

The alternative formulation that the speed of light is independent of
the motion of the observer i.e. the same for all inertial frames of
reference is quite amazing and worthy of statement as a postulate.

.

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