- #1
rahaverhma
- 73
- 1
Does space contract when one observes the space from the frame which is moving with relativistic velocity?
If anything, space effectively expands for objects that move relative to you, because you can fit more of these objects into the same length, as measured by you. But we usually interpret this as the objects contracting, not as the space expanding.rahaverhma said:Does space contract when one observes the space from the frame which is moving with relativistic velocity?
No. A length is defined between to simulteneous events (!) and simultanity is relative, hence length contraction.rahaverhma said:Does space contract when one observes the space from the frame which is moving with relativistic velocity?
It is never a good idea to impart physical characteristics to space, which really is just geometry. Rather, it makes more sense to talk about the distance between objects and the length of objects, leaving space entirely out of the discussion.rahaverhma said:Does space contract ...
In particular as what ”space” is is observer dependent.phinds said:It is never a good idea to impart physical characteristics to space, which really is just geometry. Rather, it makes more sense to talk about the distance between objects and the length of objects, leaving space entirely out of the discussion.
Space contraction, also known as length contraction, is a phenomenon described by Einstein’s theory of relativity where the length of an object appears to be shorter when it is moving at high speeds.
Space contraction occurs because the speed of light is constant in all reference frames. As an object approaches the speed of light, time slows down and length appears to contract from the perspective of an observer in a stationary frame.
The movement of a frame has a significant impact on how we observe objects. As an object moves closer to the speed of light, it appears to contract in length, and time appears to slow down. This phenomenon is known as time dilation.
Space contraction is a fundamental concept in special relativity. It is one of the key principles that help explain how time and space are relative to the observer's frame of reference. Without space contraction, special relativity would not be able to accurately describe the behavior of objects at high speeds.
Yes, we can observe space contraction in everyday life, but it is only noticeable at extremely high speeds close to the speed of light. For example, if you were to travel in a spaceship at a speed of 99.9% the speed of light, you would experience space contraction and observe objects outside the spaceship as appearing shorter. However, at everyday speeds, the effects of space contraction are negligible and cannot be observed.