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7.2 THE NATURE OF LIGHT
SPECIAL REALTIVITY P72 004 A certain star
is 10 light years from the Earth. A spaceship leaves Earth at a speed of
0.8 c to travel to the star. How long will the
trip take: (A) As measured by
Pat, an observer on Earth? (B) As measured by
Chris, an observer onboard the spaceship? View solution below only after you have completed answering the question. The solution is not in a form that you would answer in an examination. The answers are often in more detail to help improve your appreciation and understanding of the physics. |
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Solution
(A) For Pat, an observer on Earth, the time taken
where speed of
spaceship relative to Pat distance from
Earth to the star
(B) For Chris, an observer on the spaceship observes the Earth
receding and the star approaching the spaceship at speeds of
where speed of Earth
/ star
Therefore, the time to reach the planet as observed by Chris on the spaceship is
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