- #1
danny20051
- 13
- 0
So basically I am in high school and have done my major exam for the end of the year. It was a good test except for one question that i got totally stumped on. The question said that a planet was 6.7 light years away from earth. A spacecraft has a maximum speed of 0.9c, how long would a clock on the spacecraft measure once it had reached the planet. So the bit that confused me is the fact there is no relativity going on here, or is there? light years are a measurement of distance not time, thus i should be able to restate the question as, point a is x distance away, traveling at y speed (in this case 0.9c) how long will it take to get there? where does special relativity come in? there is no point of reference? I thought there would be no time dilation? I think it is a badly thought out question but I'm afraid i will loose marks because of it. Also assuming there is time dilation, then the maximum speed of 0.9c should be dependent on the frame of reference right? If u measure the speed in the spaceship and the time is dilated then shouldn't this increase the speed as you are traveling the same distance in a less amount of time, or does distance contract, ahhhh I am so confused. Any way, hope you guys can help me scab some marks and also solve the question that's been playing on my mind for a while now.
All help is greatly appreciated, thanks :)
All help is greatly appreciated, thanks :)