A spacecraft is travelling at 0-10c relative to a star - Scottish Highers Physics - Question 6 - 2018
Question 6
A spacecraft is travelling at 0-10c relative to a star.
An observer on the spacecraft measures the speed of light emitted by the star to be
A 0-90c
B 0-99c
C 1-00c
... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:A spacecraft is travelling at 0-10c relative to a star - Scottish Highers Physics - Question 6 - 2018
Step 1
The speed of light measurement by the observer
96%
114 rated
Only available for registered users.
Sign up now to view full answer, or log in if you already have an account!
Answer
According to the principles of special relativity, the speed of light in vacuum is always measured to be the same for all observers, regardless of their relative motion. This means that the observer in the spacecraft will measure the speed of light emitted by the star as constant, which is equal to c.
Step 2
Evaluate answer choices based on special relativity
99%
104 rated
Only available for registered users.
Sign up now to view full answer, or log in if you already have an account!
Answer
Given that the observer measures the speed of light to be c, the only appropriate choice is C, which states '1-00c'. Therefore, the correct answer is C.
Join the Scottish Highers students using SimpleStudy...
