Who Ages More: Mork or Mindy at 99.1% Light Speed?

[masonlane]

If Mork decided he wanted to go home to his planet Ork (10 light years away) and
traveled at 99.1% of the speed of light, while Mindy stayed in Colorado, who would have
aged more, Mork or Mindy, in the following situations.

a. If Mork went to Ork and returned to Colorado. Who would be older when Mork
returns to Colorado?
b. If Mindy also traveled to Ork at 99.1% of the speed of light to meet Mork 5 years
later. Who would be older when they are both at Ork?
c. If Mindy left at the same time as Mork, but traveled at 99.0% of the speed of
light. Who would be older when they are both at Ork?

6. If you fly over the Superbowl football field at a speed of 0.95c what would the length of
the football field appear to be to you?

 

[Integral]

You need to show us some work.

 

[nlightner]

I can provide a response based on the principles of special relativity. According to the theory of relativity, time and space are relative and can be affected by the speed of an object. In this scenario, Mork and Mindy are both traveling at high speeds, close to the speed of light, which can cause significant differences in their aging processes.

a. If Mork traveled to Ork and returned to Colorado, he would have aged less than Mindy. This is because time dilation occurs at high speeds, meaning that time moves slower for an object traveling at high speeds compared to a stationary object. Therefore, Mork would have experienced less time passing compared to Mindy, who stayed in Colorado.

b. If Mindy also traveled to Ork at 99.1% of the speed of light to meet Mork 5 years later, both Mork and Mindy would have aged approximately the same amount. This is because they are both traveling at the same speed and experiencing time dilation. However, they would both have aged less than if they had stayed in Colorado, as time moves slower at high speeds.

c. If Mindy left at the same time as Mork, but traveled at 99.0% of the speed of light, Mork would have aged less than Mindy when they both reach Ork. This is because the difference in speed between Mork and Mindy would result in a difference in time dilation, with Mork experiencing more time dilation due to his higher speed.

As for the Superbowl football field scenario, according to the principle of length contraction, an object moving at high speeds will appear shorter in the direction of motion to an observer at rest. Therefore, to someone flying over the football field at 0.95c, the length of the field would appear shorter than its actual length. The exact length would depend on the observer's relative speed and the angle at which they are flying over the field.