What follows is a series of thought experiments. Based on what you have learned from the text and other reading, offer an explanation for the scenarios given. Be sure your explanations are detailed and provide examples to support statements made. At the end, be sure to include conclusions to summarize the concepts you used to answer these items.
1. Person A is standing in a field and person B is riding in a car that is moving with velocity (v). The person in the car shines a flashlight in the direction he or she is moving.Question: What speed of light will each person measure?
2. Person A is standing in a field. Person A has a "light clock" (two mirrors reflecting a beam of light back and forth) and a watch synchronized with the light clock. Person B is in a moving car with a light clock synchronized to his or her watch. Discuss what happens with regard to the time measured by each watch.
3. Person A is at rest with a light clock. Person B is in a car moving to the left (as seen by Person A) with a light clock. Discuss how each person will perceive time. Use algebra to find the time measured by Person A with respect to how he or she perceives the time measured by person B.
4. Person A is flying through space with Person B exactly 186,000 miles behind. When Person A wants to accelerate, he or she uses a flashlight to signal person B. This means they accelerate together and remain exactly 186,000 miles apart. Person A waits exactly 1 second to allow the light to reach Person B before he or she accelerates, so they remain 186,000 miles apart from their perspective. What observation will a person standing on the ground (at rest with respect to the ground) make?
5. Discuss these scenarios above with respect to the Correspondence Principle.
Summary of the concepts used: