Two spaceships are flying toward one another at speeds of 0.5 c. Each ship will see the light from the other ship travelling at:
Question 6 options:
A)
c
B)
2 c
C)
½ c
D)
no light will be visible
E)
none of the abov
e
To determine the speed at which each spaceship sees the light from the other ship traveling, we need to use the relativistic velocity addition formula.
According to special relativity, the relativistic velocity addition formula is given by:
v' = (v1 + v2) / (1 + (v1 * v2) / c^2)
In this case, both spaceships are flying toward each other at speeds of 0.5c. Let's substitute these values into the formula:
v' = (0.5c + 0.5c) / (1 + (0.5c * 0.5c) / c^2)
= (c) / (1 + 0.25)
= (c) / (1.25)
≈ 0.8c
Therefore, each spaceship will see the light from the other ship traveling at a speed of approximately 0.8c.
So, the correct option is:
Option B) 2c (This is the closest value, although the exact value is 0.8c which is not listed. None of the options provided in the question are exactly correct.)
To determine how fast each spaceship will see the light from the other ship traveling, we need to apply the principles of special relativity. According to the theory, the speed of light (c) is constant for all observers, regardless of their relative motion.
In this scenario, the two spaceships are moving towards each other at speeds of 0.5 c each. Since the speed of light is constant and independent of the observer's motion, both spaceships will measure the speed of light as c.
Therefore, the correct answer is A) c.