- #1
serp777
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- 6
Homework Statement
A relativistic conveyor belt is moving at speed 0.5c
relative to frame S.Two observers standing beside the
belt, 10 ft apart as measured in S, arrange that each
will paint a mark on the belt at exactly the same instant
(as measured in S). How far apart will the marks
be as measured by observers on the belt?
Homework Equations
gamma = 1/√(1-β^2) = 1.1547
L = L0/gamma
The Attempt at a Solution
This problem seems very easy and I think I might be missing something as a result.
I simply viewed the problem as the conveyor belt being stationary (and therefore the observers) and the people marking the belt to be moving at speed 0.5c.
I then used the length contraction formula to calculate that the markings on the conveyor belt as the length between the two people marking would be length contracted.
L = 10/ 1.1547 = 8.66 feet between the two markings.
is this right or am I missing something?