MedVision ad

Relativity (1 Viewer)

untouchablecuz

Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
Messages
1,693
Gender
Male
HSC
2009
i just had my physics trial and theres a Q i'm not sure of:

A spaceship travelling at 0.8c covers a distance of 1 lightyear.

a) How long does this this journey take from the perspective of someone on Earth?

b) How long does it take for someone on the ship?


for a) i got 1.25 years

for b) i got 27 days

any help is appreicated :)
 

Dumbledore

Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2008
Messages
290
Gender
Male
HSC
2009
i'm not too good at this topic, but i think question 1 is right
2: t0 is the time of the observer, tv(1.25)*sqrt(1-0.8^2) = t0 = 0.75years

remember when given a speed as a % of c u can sub it in as like sqrt(1-[(0.8c)^2]/[c^2]) and the c's will cancel, easier and less chance of mistake

even if u see it as like 2x10^8, change it to 2/3 * c
 

JasonNg1025

Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2007
Messages
295
Gender
Male
HSC
2010
I think dumbledore is correct
t0 is the time on the ship, so you do it like him
Another way of thinking about it is the ship thinks the length has contracted, either way you're multiplying by sqrt(1-v^2/c^2)
 

anom1ly

Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2008
Messages
146
Gender
Female
HSC
2009
hmm, i could be wrong, but i get 0.75years for part b

i let 1.25 years be tv, and solved for to
 

shady145

Banned
Joined
Dec 4, 2008
Messages
1,687
Gender
Female
HSC
2014
i just had my physics trial and theres a Q i'm not sure of:

A spaceship travelling at 0.8c covers a distance of 1 lightyear.

a) How long does this this journey take from the perspective of someone on Earth?

b) How long does it take for someone on the ship?


for a) i got 1.25 years

for b) i got 27 days

any help is appreicated :)
i had a very simlar question in mine... it was 4 light years as measured form a guy on earth to a distant planet, 0.8c and what was the time for the guy in the spaceship to get to the planet timed by him
 

cybob101

New Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2009
Messages
13
Gender
Male
HSC
2009
i had a very simlar question in mine... it was 4 light years as measured form a guy on earth to a distant planet, 0.8c and what was the time for the guy in the spaceship to get to the planet timed by him
3 years
 

untouchablecuz

Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
Messages
1,693
Gender
Male
HSC
2009
i'm not too good at this topic, but i think question 1 is right
2: t0 is the time of the observer, tv(1.25)*sqrt(1-0.8^2) = t0 = 0.75years

remember when given a speed as a % of c u can sub it in as like sqrt(1-[(0.8c)^2]/[c^2]) and the c's will cancel, easier and less chance of mistake

even if u see it as like 2x10^8, change it to 2/3 * c
what i did for b was:

L=Lo * sqrt(1-0.8^2)

where Lo is 1 LY and L is the shorter relativistic length

then i proceeded to use t=d/v, where d=L and v=0.8c

well anyway, thanks for the help everyone
 

mitchell.j.bell

New Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2008
Messages
12
Gender
Male
HSC
2009
In one year, light travels a distance of 1 lightyear, so if something was going 0.8 times the speed of light, it would only travel 0.8 times the distance of one light year in one year, i.e 0.8 lightyears.

SO how is everyone getting 0.75 years for part (b)?
 

untouchablecuz

Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
Messages
1,693
Gender
Male
HSC
2009
just so you guys know

i got my paper back

for a) my answer is correct

b) 0.75 years is correct
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top