High School

A rocket is moving to the right at half the speed of light relative to the Earth. A lightbulb in the center of a room inside the rocket suddenly turns on. Let L1 be the light hitting the front end of the rocket and L2 be the light hitting the back end.

Which of the following statements is true about the time it takes for L1 and L2 to reach the ends of the rocket?

1) L1 takes less time than L2
2) L1 takes more time than L2
3) L1 and L2 take the same time
4) Cannot be determined

Answer :

1) L1 takes less time than L2, In the rocket frame, L1 takes less time than L2 to reach the ends of the rocket due to the contraction of distances and time intervals in the direction of motion.

The correct statement about the time it takes for L1 and L2 to reach the ends of the rocket is:

  1. L1 takes less time than L2.

This is because in the rocket frame, due to the principle of relativity, distances and time intervals are contracted in the direction of motion, resulting in L1 taking less time to reach the front end of the rocket than L2 takes to reach the back end.

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