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

Let the relative velocity between two frames of reference be given by V. If V could be equal to the speed of light, what would the value of the Lorentz factor be?

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8. Question 8 Let the relative velocity between two frames of reference be given by V. If V could be equal to the speed of light, what would the value…

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

Consider two identical light clocks, designed as explained in lecture. Bob has one, and Alice takes the other on her spaceship and flies by Bob at speed V. Bob observes Alice’s clock as Alice flies by. Which of the following statements is true?

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7. Question 7 Consider two identical light clocks, designed as explained in lecture. Bob has one, and Alice takes the other on her spaceship and flies by Bob at speed…

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

Let Bob have a spaceship with a clock at each end, both of which are synchronized in his frame of reference. Alice has an identical spaceship with a clock at each end, both of which are synchronized in her frame of reference. Her spaceship is docked at the local spaceport, with the front end pointed to the right (positive x direction). Meanwhile, Bob flies by in his ship at a speed V heading to the right (positive x direction). Alice observes Bob’s clocks as he flies by. What does she observe, according to her frame of reference (and lattice of synchronized clocks)? (Tip: Sometimes it helps to draw a picture to visualize what’s going on.)

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3. Question 3 Let Bob have a spaceship with a clock at each end, both of which are synchronized in his frame of reference. Alice has an identical spaceship with…

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

Consider two identical light clocks, designed as explained in lecture. Bob has one, and Alice takes the other on her spaceship and flies by Bob at speed V. Bob observes Alice’s clock. What is the relationship between a certain amount of elapsed time on Bob’s clock and the corresponding elapsed time on Alice’s clock, as observed by Bob (where γ represents the Lorentz factor)?

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9. Question 9 Consider two identical light clocks, designed as explained in lecture. Bob has one, and Alice takes the other on her spaceship and flies by Bob at speed…

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

Let the relative velocity between two frames of reference be given by V. If V = 0, what is value of the Lorentz factor?

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8. Question 8 Let the relative velocity between two frames of reference be given by V. If V = 0, what is value of the Lorentz factor? 1 point  …

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

True or false: The proper length of an object is always greater than its length as measured by an observer who is moving with respect to the object.

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5. Question 5 True or false: The proper length of an object is always greater than its length as measured by an observer who is moving with respect to the…

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

Alice is observing the arrivals and departures at a spaceport. She observes one flight land at pad D7, and then notes another flight take off from pad G23 seventeen seconds later. Alice knows that the distance between pad D7 and pad G23 is 1240 meters in her frame of reference. Meanwhile, Bob flies by the spaceport at a high speed V and observes the same landing and takeoff, though he records a different time and distance between the two events, based on his frame of reference. If both Alice and Bob plug in their values for the elapsed time and distance between the landing and takeoff into the formulas below (where c is the speed of light, t is the elapsed time, and x is the distance), which one will give the same answer for both?

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11. Question 11 Alice is observing the arrivals and departures at a spaceport. She observes one flight land at pad D7, and then notes another flight take off from pad…

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

Consider Alice’s spaceship with the paintball apparatus that shoots two paintballs toward clocks at opposite ends of her ship, each with speed S relative to the apparatus (similar to the video lecture). Assume that Alice has properly synchronized her clocks, that her spaceship is moving with speed V to the right (in the positive x direction) relative to Bob, that S is greater than V, and that S and V are much less than the speed of light. According to Bob’s observation of Alice’s spaceship (and clocks and paintballs) flying by, what will be the speed of the paintball that is moving to the left? (In other words, what is the speed in Bob’s frame of reference? We’re interested in the speed as the magnitude of velocity, so don’t worry about whether it might be positive or negative.)

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1. Question 1 Consider Alice’s spaceship with the paintball apparatus that shoots two paintballs toward clocks at opposite ends of her ship, each with speed S relative to the apparatus…

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

Consider two identical light clocks, designed as explained in lecture. Bob has one, and Alice takes the other on her spaceship and flies by Bob at speed V near the speed of light. True or false: The time dilation effect means that Alice observes time slowing down on her clock.

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10. Question 10 Consider two identical light clocks, designed as explained in lecture. Bob has one, and Alice takes the other on her spaceship and flies by Bob at speed…

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

Of the following velocities, at what velocity (approximately) does the Lorentz factor start to become noticeably different from the value of 1 (where c is the speed of light)?

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8. Question 8 Of the following velocities, at what velocity (approximately) does the Lorentz factor start to become noticeably different from the value of 1 (where c is the speed…