Exam 36: Relativity

Two spaceships are approaching one another, each at a speed of 0.28c relative to a stationary observer on Earth. What speed does an observer on one spaceship record for the other approaching spaceship?

Someone in Earth's rest frame says that a spaceship's trip between two planets took 10.0 y, while an astronaut on the space ship says that the trip took 6.27 y. Find the speed of the spaceship in terms of the speed of light.

The special theory of relativity predicts that there is an upper limit to the speed of a particle. It therefore follows that there is also an upper limit on the following properties of a particle.

A particle in a 453 m-long linear particle accelerator is moving at 0.875c. How long does the particle accelerator appear to the particle?

During a nuclear reaction, the particles involved lose 4.8 × 10^-28 kg of mass. How many joules of energy are released by this reaction? (c = 3.00 × 10⁸ m/s)

A spaceship approaching an asteroid at a speed of 0.60c launches a rocket forward with a speed of 0.40c relative to the spaceship. At what speed is the rocket approaching the asteroid as measured by an astronaut on the asteroid?

In an "atom smasher," two particles collide head on at relativistic speeds. If the velocity of the first particle is 0.741c to the left, and the velocity of the second particle is 0.350c to the right (both of these speeds are measured in Earth's rest frame), how fast are the particles moving with respect to each other?

How many joules of energy are required to accelerate a 1.0-kg mass from rest to a speed of 86.6% the speed of light? (c = 3.00 × 10⁸ m/s)

During a nuclear reaction, 1.7 × 10^-4 J of energy is released. What is the resulting change in mass of the particles involved? (c = 3.00 × 10⁸ m/s)

A spaceship approaches the earth with a speed 0.50c. A passenger in the spaceship measures his heartbeat as 70 beats per minute. What is his heartbeat rate according to an observer that is at rest relative to the earth?

An unstable particle is moving at a speed of 2.6 × 10⁸ m/s relative to a laboratory. Its lifetime is measured by a stationary observer in the laboratory to be 4.7 × 10^-6 seconds. What is the lifetime of the particle, measured in the rest frame of the particle? (c = 3.00 × 10⁸ m/s)

As a spaceship is moving toward Earth, an Earthling measures its length to be 325 m, while the captain on board radios that her spaceship's length is 1150 m. (c = 3.00 × 10⁸ m/s) (a) How fast is the rocket moving relative to Earth? (b) What is the TOTAL energy of a 75.0-kg crewman as measured by (i) the captain in the rocket and (ii) the Earthling?

Three spaceships A, B, and C are in motion, as shown in the figure. The commander on ship B observes ship C approaching with a relative velocity of 0.78c. The commander also observes ship A, advancing in the rear, with a relative velocity of 0.31c. What is the velocity of ship C, relative to an observer on ship A?

A particle is moving at 0.75c relative to a lab on Earth. By what percentage is the Newtonian expression for its momentum in error? (The percentage error is the difference between the erroneous and correct values, divided by the correct one).

Assume that a certain city consumes electrical energy at an average rate of 2.0 × 10⁹ W. What would be the mass change in producing enough energy to keep this city running for 21 weeks? (c = 3.00 × 10⁸ m/s)

Astronaut Mark Uri is space-traveling from planet X to planet Y at a speed of 0.65c relative to the planets, which are at rest relative to each other. When he is precisely halfway between the planets, a distance of 1.0 light-hour from each one as measured in the planet frame, nuclear devices are detonated on both planets. The explosions are simultaneous in Mark's frame. What is the difference in the time of arrival of the flashes from the explosions as observed by Mark?

The closest known star to our solar system is Alpha Centauri, which is approximately 4.30 light years away. A spaceship with a constant speed of 0.800c relative to the earth travels from Earth to this star. (a) How much time would elapse during the trip on a clock on board the spaceship? (b) How much time would elapse during the trip on a clock on Earth?

A spaceship is moving away from the earth with a constant speed of 0.80c. The spaceship fires a 28-kg missile with a speed of 0.50c relative to the spaceship. What is the speed of the missile measured by observers on the earth if the missile is fired (a) away from the earth? (b) toward the earth?

An electron has a speed of 0.643c. Through what potential difference would the electron need to be accelerated (starting from rest) in order to reach this speed? (c = 3.00 × 10⁸ m/s, e = 1.60 × 10^-19 C, M_el = 9.11 × 10^-31 kg)

A spacecraft is measured by an observer on the ground to have a length of 53 m as it flies toward the earth with a speed 1.7 × 10⁸ m/s. The spacecraft then lands and its length is again measured by the observer on the ground, this time while the spacecraft is at rest on the launchpad. What result does he now get for the length? (c = 3.00 × 10⁸ m/s)