- #1
Ammar SH
- 19
- 0
Homework Statement
Alpha Centauri, the closest star to Earth, is 4.3x10^6 m away. How long would it take a spaceship to reach the star if it were traveling at 0.999c?
Homework Equations
I did get the answer as 0.2a...and the textbook also said it would take about 2 months,
I do not understand what the a represents/stands for and how the textbook got 2 months from 2a.
Also, I do not why I had to find tm and then to?
The Attempt at a Solution
ts = d/v = 4.3 x 10^16/0.999c = 1.43x10^8 s
tm = ts/√(1-v^2/c^2
= 1.43x10^8/√(1-(0.999c)^2/c^2
= 3.19 x 10^9 s
tm = 4.5a
THE ANSWER KEy gets the same answer till the part above but then the answer key starts doing more calculations afterwards(below) which I do not get
ts = tm√1-v^2/c^2
= 4.5a√1-(0.999c)^2/c^2
ts = 0.2a
the textbook gave 0.2a but also said it will take two months to reach the star and that is what I do not understand.
Thanks for your help.
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