Question

A ladder 5.00 m long leans against a wall inside a spaceship. From the point of view of a person on the ship, the base of the ladder is 2.40 m from the wall, and the top of the ladder is 4.39 m above the floor. The spaceship moves past the Earth with a speed of 0.86c in a direction parallel to the floor of the ship. Find the angle the ladder makes with the floor, as seen by an observer on Earth.

Answer 1

Since the spacecraft is moving at a higher speed the observer on Earth will observe length contraction in direction parallel to the direction of motion of the spacecraft. The distance from the wall to the base of the ladder will be contracted while the distance from the floor to the top of the ladder will remain unchanged. CT (0.86c) 2.40x41 1.224 m Then the angle the ladder makes with the floor as seen by the observer on Earth θ cos 1.224 -1 224 4.39 ::74.42