Doubt about Relativity: Is it Possible?

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The discussion centers on the relativistic velocities of two protons fired in opposite directions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. One proton is fired at 0.9c and the other at 0.5c, with calculations showing that each proton perceives the other moving at approximately 0.966c. The velocity addition formula used is v' = (v1 + v2) / (1 + (v1v2/c²)), which is essential for understanding relativistic effects. The discussion highlights the importance of reference frames in measuring velocities in relativistic physics.

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helios.jones
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Doubt about relativity!

I am a noob! Forgive me if it sounds too stupid!

Let me say, I am in CERN right now at the LHC.
I fire a proton at 0.9c in one direction. While this happens, I also fire another proton at 0.5c in the opposite direction. Both the measurements were done considering the lab as a reference frame.

The problem is, what's the speed(or velocity) of either proton relative to one another??
 
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It will be given by [itex]v' = {{v_1 + v_2}\over{1+{{v_1v_2}\over{c^2}}}}[/itex]

Numerically either proton will see the other shoot off at .966c

Formally you consider one of the proton's rest frame and send the lab traveling off at 0.9c/0.5c and then the other proton is shot off at 0.5c/0.9c from the lab frame.
 

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