II Semester 2022-2023
PHY 2020 Physics IV
Problem Set 04
Date: 24 August, 2023.
This is to be submitted not later than 12:30 pm on 31-8-2023.
1. High energy subatomic particles coming from space interact with atoms in the Earth
upper atmosphere, in some cases producing unstable particles called muons. A muon
decays into other particles with a mean lifetime of 2.20μs as measured in a reference
frame in which it is at rest. If a muon is moving at 0.990c relative to the earth, what
will an observer on earth measure its mean lifetime to be?
2. An airplane flies from San Francisco to New York, 4800 km at a steady speed of 300
m/s (about 670 miles/hr). How much time does the trip take, as measured by an
observer on the ground? By an observer in the plane?
3. A spaceship flies past earth at a speed of 0.990c. A crew member on board the
spaceship measures its length, obtaining the value 400m. What length do observers
measure on earth?
4. Your starship passes Earth with a relative speed of 0.9990c. After traveling 10.0 y (your
time), you stop at lookout post LP13, turn, and then travel back to Earth with the same
relative speed. The trip back takes another 10.0 y (your time). How long does the round
trip take according to measurements made on Earth? (Neglect any effects due to the
accelerations involved with stopping, turning, and getting back up to speed.)
5. Caught by surprise near a supernova, you race away from the explosion in your
spaceship, hoping to outrun the high-speed material ejected toward you. Your Lorentz
factor g relative to the inertial reference frame of the local stars is 22.4. (a) To reach a
safe distance, you figure you need to cover 9.00 x1016 m as measured in the reference
frame of the local stars. How long will the flight take, as measured in that frame? (b)
How long does that trip take according to you (in your reference frame)?
6. An Earth starship has been sent to check an Earth outpost on the planet P1407, whose
moon houses a battle group of the often hostile Reptulians. As the ship follows a
straightline course first past the planet and then past the moon, it detects a high-energy
microwave burst at the Reptulian moon base and then, 1.10 s later, an explosion at the
Earth outpost, which is 4.00 x 108 m from the Reptulian base as measured from the
ship’s reference frame. The Reptulians have obviously attacked the Earth outpost, and
so the starship begins to prepare for a confrontation with them. The speed of the ship
relative to the planet and its moon is 0.980c. What are the distance and time interval
between the burst and the explosion as measured in the planet–moon frame (and thus
according to the occupants of the stations)?
7. The period of a pendulum is measured to be 3.00 s in the reference frame of the
pendulum. What is the period when measured by an observer moving at a speed of
0.960c relative to the pendulum?
8. An astronaut takes a trip to Sirius, which is located a distance of 8 light-years from the
Earth. The astronaut measures the time of the one-way journey to be 6 years. If the
spaceship moves at a constant speed of 0.8c, how can the 8-ly distance be reconciled
with the 6-year trip time measured by the astronaut?
9. Suppose a runner moving at 0.75c carries a horizontal pole 15 m long toward a barn
that is 10 m long. The barn has front and rear doors that are initially open. An observer
on the ground can instantly and simultaneously close and open the two doors by remote
control. When the runner and the pole are inside the barn, the ground observer closes
and then opens both doors so that the runner and pole are momentarily captured inside
the barn and then proceed to exit the barn from the back doorway. Do both the runner
and the ground observer agree that the runner makes it safely through the barn?
10. A spacecraft is moving relative to the earth. An observer on the earth finds that,
between 1 P.M. and 2 P.M. according to her clock, 3601 s elapse on the spacecraft’s
clock. What is the spacecraft’s speed relative to the earth?
11. Dick and Jane each send out a radio signal once a year while Dick is away. How many
signals does Dick receive? How many does Jane receive?
12. A distant galaxy in the constellation Hydra is receding from the earth at 6.12 x107 m/s.
By how much is a green spectral line of wavelength 500 nm (1 nm = 10-9 m) emitted
by this galaxy shifted toward the red end of the spectrum?
13. Find the acceleration of a particle of mass m and velocity v when it is acted upon by
the constant force F, where F is parallel to v.
14. A stationary body explodes into two fragments each of mass 1.0 kg that move apart at
speeds of 0.6c relative to the original body. Find the mass of the original body.
15. An electron (m=0.511 MeV/c2) and a photon (m=0) both have momenta of 2.000
MeV/c. Find the total energy of each.
