- #1
kirsten_2009
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Homework Statement
A riffle barrel and a laser point directly towards a target some distance away. General relativity says that the bullet and the light experience the same downward acceleration during horizontal travel, yet the bullet hits the target well below the laser beam. Explain.
Homework Equations
The Attempt at a Solution
While the downward acceleration is acting on both the bullet and the laser beam at the same rate; this downward acceleration actually has more time to work on the bullet that on the laser beam since the laser beam is traveling a lot faster (speed of light) than the bullet. Also, the bullet has more mass to be acted on downward than the laser beam. Consequently, the laser beam will arrive faster to the target as it has less time and mass to be acted on by downward acceleration forces compared to the bullet and the added downward forces experienced by the bullet will drag it down; hitting the target after and below that of the laser beam...correct?
Thanks for the help :)