According to the Lorentz Transformation, an object, as observed from a "stationary" frame of reference, moving at a speed approaching c will contract in the direction parallel to the direction of motion.
Say an object is moving towards a distant star with a speed approaching c. The length of the moving object will contract in the direction of motion as observed from an outside frame.
Here's the question: Can't it be said that the distance between the moving object and the distant star it's traveling towards is also contracting?
I'm not talking about the fact that the object is moving towards the star, & that's why it's getting closer. I mean that the effects of the Lorentz Transformation are also contributing to the contraction of the distance.
2006-07-23 09:36:14 · 6 answers · asked by vaporhut 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
yes, and this is actually observed in nature. fast atomic nuclei constantly rain down on earth, and sometimes, one will strike an atomic nucleus in earth's upper atmosphere. when one does, a particle called a muon is created. muons are very short-lived and should not have time enough to make it to the surface, but they do. the muons are traveling so fast that they see the distance between the upper atmosphere, where they originated, and the surface, where we detect them, as much shorter than we do so they have enough time to travel the short distance before decaying. also, we see the time of the muon dilated so much that they exist long enough to reach the surface.
2006-07-23 09:39:01 · answer #1 · answered by warm soapy water 5 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Yes and No.
In the "Frame of Reference" yes, in the "real universe," no. You can't actually make shortcuts in nature yet. And any Shortening is illusionary based upon the principle of your approach "towards the speed of light" and not based in the "universe at large." So, when you "slow back down" the illusion drops and you find yourself further away than you expected. However, you have to realize, that according to those "observing you" you yourself "forshortened also." Meaning what was a 1,000 ft spaceshp may have looked only 100 ft long when obseved from outside in the regular universe. However, this too was corrected when speed approached "normal velocities."
2006-07-23 10:03:12 · answer #2 · answered by AdamKadmon 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is the length of the object itself, measured from the original "at rest" frame of reference, that contracts, and the mass increases. At C the length is zero, and the mass is infinite, obviously asymptotic (not achievable).
Time also slows, and this has been tested at much lower speeds with extremely accurate cesium clocks.
2006-07-23 09:44:07 · answer #3 · answered by helixburger 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes
2006-07-23 09:38:34 · answer #4 · answered by rod 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes it contracts but in the frame of the objet, in the rest frame the length is still the same
2006-07-23 09:46:14 · answer #5 · answered by chronno_x 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. That's why ultra-relativistic muons are able to make it to detectors here on Earth before decaying.
2006-07-23 15:31:27 · answer #6 · answered by anonymous 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋