Question

cant seem to figure out how to do Q iii onwards...

Question 6 [3+2+3+ 5+2+2 + 2 +2 21 marks] Sherlock Duck v0.95c Billy and Wyatt courtesy of http://www.designedtoat.com/freegraphics.htm Billy and Wyatt are playing laser tag at the OK Laser Tag Centre. Sherlock Duck is flying past in a very fast rocket travelling at 0.95c relative to the reference frame of Billy and Wyatt. The accompanying figure depicts the view from Sherlock Duck's reference frame where Billy, Wyatt and the OK Laser Tag Centre are travelling from right to left at 0.95c. In Sherlock Duck's reference frame the laser pulse from Billy's gun hits Wyatt before the laser pulse from Wyatt's gun hits Billy. Later when Sherlock Duck questioned the two laser tag players Billy and Wyatt claimed that they both fired at the same time (a) In their reference frame Billy and Wyatt are standing 900 m apart and Billy is at the origin of their reference frame. If Billy and Wyatt both fire their laser pulses at the same time and if Billy is hit by Wyatt's laser pulse at time t-0 when Sherlock Duck is flying directly above Billy and we also take this instant to be time t' = 0 in Sherlock Duck's reference frame and Sherlock Duck is at the origin of her reference fr ame: (i) For Billy and Wyatt's reference frame find the spacetime coordinates of the events (ii) For Billy and Wyatt's reference frame find the spacetime coordinates of the events (iii) For Billy and Wyatt's reference frame what are the spacetime coordinates of Sherlock (iv) In Sherlock Duck's reference frame find the spacetime coordinates of the events Event 1: Billy fires laser pulse and Event 2: Wyatt fires laser pulse Event 3: laser pulse hits Billy and Event 4: laser pulse hits Wyatt. Duck when Billy and Wyatt fire the laser pulses? Event 3: Billy is hit by Wyatt's laser pulse, Event 4: Wyatt is hit by Billy's laser pulse (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Briefly describe what is meant by "the principle of relativity". Briefly describe what is meant by a "reference frame". Briefly describe what is meant by an "event" and the term "relativity of simultaneity". Briefly describe how Einstein's theory of relativity explains why Billy and Wyatt's claim could be correct that although Sherlock Duck observes that Wyatt is hit first the laser pulses could have been fired at the same time in the reference frame of Billy and Wyatt.

Answer 1