A person in a spaceship holds a meter stick as the ship...

A person in a spaceship holds a meter stick as the ship moves parallel to the Earth's surface with $y=2$. What does the person in the ship notice if she rotates the stick from parallel to perpendicular to the ship's motion? a) The stick becomes shorter. b) The stick becomes longer. c) The length of the stick stays the same.

A person in a spaceship holds a meter stick as the ship moves parallel to the Earth's surface with $y=2$. What does the person in the ship notice if she rotates the stick from parallel to perpendicular to the ship's motion?
a) The stick becomes shorter.
b) The stick becomes longer.
c) The length of the stick stays the same.

Key Concepts

Proper Length

Proper length is the length of an object measured in its own rest frame and is invariant. This means that regardless of how an object is oriented within its rest frame, the measured length remains constant, thereby explaining why a meter stick would have the same length when rotated within the spaceship.

Length Contraction

Length contraction is the effect predicted by special relativity wherein objects moving relative to an observer appear shorter along the direction of motion. However, this phenomenon is only observed from frames in which the object is moving, and does not affect measurements in the object's rest frame where its proper length is maintained.

Special Relativity

Special relativity is a theory of physics that describes how measurements of space and time differ for observers in different inertial frames. It lays the foundation for understanding phenomena like time dilation and length contraction, emphasizing that the laws of physics are identical in all non-accelerating (inertial) frames.

Reference Frames

Reference frames are coordinate systems that observers use to measure physical quantities such as time, distance, and speed. In special relativity, it is crucial to distinguish between an object's rest frame—where the object is stationary—and frames in which the object is moving, as physical measurements can differ between these frames.

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