# Why the speed of light is represented by $c$? [closed]

In almost every textbook, I've found that the speed of light is $c \approx 3 \times 10^8\: \mathrm{m/s}$. I wonder why it's just $c$ ?

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## closed as off-topic by jinawee, Waffle's Crazy Peanut, Kyle Kanos, Valter Moretti, Brandon EnrightFeb 10 '14 at 16:12

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You may check this link – Zet Feb 10 '14 at 5:13
Hi, here is a link with a very nice and exhaustive answer to this question: math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/SpeedOfLight/c.html – Zoltan Zimboras Feb 10 '14 at 5:14
@Zet: you were 46 seocnd faster ;) – Zoltan Zimboras Feb 10 '14 at 5:14
I always thought it stood for "cpeed of light" : ) – Dimensio1n0 Feb 10 '14 at 6:13
This question appears to be off-topic because it is about naming conventions – jinawee Feb 10 '14 at 14:48

It's c for constant or celeritas, which means speed in Latin. Everyone uses it because it's convention. You could use $\xi$ or $\zeta$ or $\gamma$ or any other symbol you wanted, but then you'd have to explain what it meant, and people would have to go through the trouble to remember this every time they read your papers. Better to go with convention and save everyone the headache