Johnny5 Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Does Lorentz contraction apply only to the length of bodies, only to distances traveled in space, or both? The formula I am asking about is: [math] L = L_0 \sqrt{1-v^2/c^2} [/math] Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.C.MacSwell Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Does Lorentz contraction apply only to the length of bodies' date=' only to distances traveled in space, or both? The formula I am asking about is: [math'] L = L_0 \sqrt{1-v^2/c^2} [/math] Thank you Both Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny5 Posted March 1, 2005 Author Share Posted March 1, 2005 Both Can you explain why you claim both? Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mattson Posted March 14, 2005 Share Posted March 14, 2005 It's both because the manner in which it was derived does not depend on whether the space between two points is filled with matter. If you think about it some, you will see that it wouldn't make any sense if the answer were not "both". Take two planets, separated by a distance L0 in their mutual rest frame. Then Buck Rogers goes zipping by in his starship with speed v in a direction parallel to the line joining the centers of the planets. How far apart are the planets in Buck's frame? Well, if the answer to your question were not "both", then the answer to my question would depend on whether or not there is a giant ruler between the two planets, which is absurd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny5 Posted March 14, 2005 Author Share Posted March 14, 2005 It's both because the manner in which it was derived does not depend on whether the space between two points is filled with matter. If you think about it some, you will see that it wouldn't make any sense if the answer were not "both". Take two planets, separated by a distance L0[/sub'] in their mutual rest frame. Then Buck Rogers goes zipping by in his starship with speed v in a direction parallel to the line joining the centers of the planets. How far apart are the planets in Buck's frame? Well, if the answer to your question were not "both", then the answer to my question would depend on whether or not there is a giant ruler between the two planets, which is absurd. Perfectly answered Tom, thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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