Question

An unidentified flying object (UFO) flashes across the night sky. A UFO enthusiast on the top of Pike's Peak determines that the length of the UFO is 145 m along the direction of motion. If the UFO is moving with a speed of 0.86c, how long is the UFO according to its pilot? Answer in units of m.

Answer 1

`L_(0)=284.15m`

Step-by-step explanation

Length contraction, relativistic Law, for an object with a velocity v and a length at rest Lo :

`L=L_(0){\sqrt {1-v^(2)/c^(2)`

We solve in order to find the length at rest:

`L_(0)=L/({\sqrt {1-v^(2)/c^(2)})=145/({\sqrt {1-(0.86c)^(2)/c^(2)})=284.15m`