Question

At what speed, as a fraction of c, will a moving rod have a length 65% that of an identical rod at rest

Answer 1

Answer:

v/c = 0.76

Explanation:

Formula for Length contraction is given by;

L = L_o(√(1 - (v²/c²))

Where;

L is the length of the object at a moving speed v

L_o is the length of the object at rest

v is the speed of the object

c is speed of light

Now, we are given; L = 65%L_o = 0.65L_o, since L_o is the length at rest.

Thus;

0.65L_o = L_o[√(1 - (v²/c²))]

Dividing both sides by L_o gives;

0.65 = √(1 - (v²/c²))

Squaring both sides, we have;

0.65² = (1 - (v²/c²))

v²/c² = 1 - 0.65²

v²/c² = 0.5775

Taking square root of both sides gives;

v/c = 0.76