Question

A starship is traveling toward earth at a speed of 0.85c when it experiences a major malfunction and the crew is forced to evacuate. An escape pod that is 10.5 m long with respect to its passengers is ejected from the starship and sent toward earth at a speed of 0.76c with respect to the starship. How long does the escape pod appear to the people on Earth?

Answer 1

Using formula: PB RA PA PB RA ere Speed of the starship vp 0.85c Length of the escape pod I-10.5 m Speed of the escape pod with respect to the starship VBA 0.76 C 0.85c0.76 c PA(0.85c (0.76 c) =0.97c The lorentz factor is given by (0.97c The length of one frame is I, then the length in any other reference form is contracted by 10.5 m 4.11 2.55 m