The space capsule is on its way back to earth after deploying its first two parachutes falls at a speed of 100 mph what is the space capsules velocity?

Question

asked Feb 2, 2021 98.5k views

1 Answer

Neverbendeasy · Answer 1 · 2021-02-08T00:20:51+0000

The speed of the space capsule relative to the ship can be calculated using the relativistic velocity addition equation.

The speed of the space capsule relative to the ship can be calculated using the relativistic velocity addition equation:

v' = (v + u) / (1 + vu/c^2)

Where:

v' is the relative velocity of the capsule to the ship

v is the velocity of the ship (0.1c = 0.1 * speed of light)

u is the velocity of the capsule relative to the Earth (0.1c = 0.1 * speed of light)

c is the speed of light

Substituting the given values:

v' = (0.1c + 0.1c) / (1 + 0.1c * 0.1c / c^2)

Simplifying the equation gives:

v' = 0.2c / (1 + 0.01)

v' = 0.2c / 1.01

Therefore, the speed of the capsule relative to the ship is approximately 0.198c (where c is the speed of light).