Physics homework help!?
Two 30m long space ships are flying towards each other. one ship is traveling at 0.30c and the other at 0.42c. what does each of the pilots observe the other ship's length to be?
Two 30m long space ships are flying towards each other. one ship is traveling at 0.30c and the other at 0.42c. what does each of the pilots observe the other ship's length to be?
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Favorite Answer
Not really in my wheelhouse, but try this:
relativistic velocity addition
v = (0.30 + 0.42)c / (1 + 0.30*0.42) = 0.6394c
1/γ = √(1 - 0.6394²) = 0.77
apparent L = 30m*0.77 = 23 m