In: Physics
The formula for length contraction gives the length of an interval on a ruler moving with velocity v relative to an observer as where L is the length of the same interval on a ruler at rest with respect to the observer. By what fraction is the length of a meter stick reduced if its velocity relative to you is measured to be 87 percent of the speed of light?
The formula for the length contraction is given by
Where c is speed of light, v is speed of object with respect to the observer. L is contracted length of object and L0 is proper length of object.
For the given problem,
v = 0.87c
Therefore,
If the velocity of the object is 87 percent of speed of light then the length of the meter stick will be 49 percent of its proper length.