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At about what fraction of the speed of light do today's spacecraft travel?

A) 1/2
B) 1/10
C) 1/100
D) 1/1,000
E) 1/10,000

1 Answer

7 votes

Final answer:

Today's spacecraft travel at the speed of light, which is 1/1

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the speed at which the spacecraft is traveling relative to the speed of light, we can use the equation:

v = (v1 + v2) / (1 + (v1*v2) / c^2)

Where v is the velocity of the spacecraft relative to the speed of light, v1 is the velocity of the spacecraft, v2 is the velocity of light, and c is the speed of light. Since the spacecraft is traveling at half the speed of light (v1 = 0.5c), we can substitute these values into the equation:

v = (0.5c + c) / (1 + (0.5c * c) / c^2) = 1.5c / (1 + 0.5) = 1.5/1.5 = 1

Therefore, the spacecraft is traveling at the speed of light, which is equivalent to 1/1.

User Joe Di Stefano
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