Author Question: John is in an inertial frame F and Jack is in a frame F' moving relative to F in the x-direction at ... (Read 59 times)

s.tung · **on:** Jul 28, 2018

John is in an inertial frame F and Jack is in a frame F' moving relative to F in the x-direction at a constant velocity v. John and Jack each hold a 1-m stick with them oriented in the x-direction. Which one of the following statements best describes the situation?
A.John measures Jack's stick as shorter than his own
B.Jack measures John's stick as shorter than his own
C.The time it takes John to measure Jack's stick does not factor into John's calculation
D.Both a and b
E.All of the above

Question 2

Which of the following statements about the Michelson-Morley experiment is correct?
A.The physics world was immediately convinced of the null result on ether.
B.The interferometer measured large effects from the ether, showing that the velocity of light changes depending on motion with respect to the ether.
C.Changing the angle of the interferometer produced different results.
D.They found that the interference effects of the ether were not dependent on the direction of motion of the interferometer.

aburgess · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 28, 2018

Answer to Question 1

A.
While John indeed measures Jack's stick as shorter than his own, this is not the statement that best describes the situation. John sees Jack's frame of reference as moving with respect to his own, and by the special theory of relativity, moving objects appear shorter to non-moving observers

Answer to Question 2

D. They thought that movement through the ether, which supposedly had some inherent motion itself, would create interference effects in their interferometer. Instead, they saw no effects whatsoever on the direction of the motion of the interferometer through space and the interference patterns on the interferometer.