SparkNotes Shopping Cart  |     |  Checkout
Brought to you by Barnes and Noble
  Home : Math & Science : Physics Study Guides : Special Relativity : Applications : Problems on the Twin Paradox
Applications of Special Relativity
  
 
Problems on the Twin Paradox
Problem 2.1: A spacecraft travels at 0.99c to a star 3.787×1013 kilometers away. How long will a roundtrip to this star take from the point of view of someone on the earth? [Solution]
Problem 2.2: With reference to the previous problem, how long will the roundtrip take for someone in the spaceship, according to someone measuring from the earth? [Solution]
Problem 2.3: Now in the reference frame of someone in the spaceship, what is the time taken for the roundtrip as observed by a passenger, and by someone on earth (ignoring the times when the spaceship is accelerating or decelerating). [Solution]
Problem 2.4: If one person stays on earth and one person travels to the distant star, who will age more during the trip and by what amount? [Solution]
Problem 2.5: Twin A floats freely in outer space. Twin B flies past in a spaceship at speed v0. Just as they pass each other they both start timers at t = 0. At the instant of passing B also turns on his engines so as to decelerate at g. This causes B to slow down and eventually to stop and accelerate back towards A so that when the twins pass each other again B is traveling at speed v0 again. If they compare their clocks, who is younger? [Solution]
Help | Feedback | Make a request | Report an error | Send to a friend
 
Study right for the SAT II Chemistry test with the experts at SparkNotes.
More...
 
SparkNotes Study Cards boil down subjects into digestible tidbits, making studying easier.
More...
 
 
Go to top