Online Course Support | Understanding Einstein: The Special Theory of Relativity

Alice creates a machine that can shoot basketballs in a horizontal direction. Using a radar gun, Bob measures the speed of the basketball coming from the machine when it is stationary and finds that it is 30 km/hour. If Alice then puts the machine on top of a car, which she is driving at 50 km/hour toward Bob, and shoots a basketball in the direction of travel, what would be the horizontal speed of the ball as Bob measures it? (Neglect any effects of air resistance or other sources of friction.)

 

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