Question

A rocket ship flies past the earth at 88.0 % of the speed of light. Inside, an astronaut who is undergoing a physical examination is having his height measured while he is lying down parallel to the direction the rocket ship is moving.

Suppose the astronaut in part A gets up after the examination and stands with his body perpendicular to the direction of motion. What would the doctor in the rocket measure for his height now?

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

Where the astronaut is parallel to the direction of motion we have to take into account the Lorentz's contraction, which is given by

`L=L_0\sqrt{1-(v^2)/(c^2)}\\\\L=L_0\sqrt{1-((0.88c)^2)/(c^2)}=0.47L_0`

That is, there is a contraction near of 47%.

However, if the mesurement of the doctor is made with the astronaut perpendicular to the direction of motion, the height is not going to change.

HOPE THIS HELPS!!

Answer 2

Answer: the height will increase relativistically to 4.127m

This is because height increases as one approaches the speed of light c

Step-by-step explanation:

The height of the astronaut in the ship is not indicated in this part of the question but I'll assume that it is the same as that of the other question where the height is 1.96m.

NB: if the height for this question is not 1.96m then substitute the actual value of the height as h', in h'÷0.4749 to get answer.

Check the image for the detailed calculation.