How Do Relativity Effects Impact Age During Space Travel?

AI Thread Summary
In a scenario where a 30-year-old astronaut travels to a star 40 light-years away at 0.90c, her son on Earth will age 90 years by the time she returns, making him 90 years old. The astronaut's age can be calculated using the time dilation formula, considering her travel time of approximately 88.89 years round trip. Due to relativistic effects, she will age significantly less than her son during this journey. The calculations indicate that while her son ages 90 years, the astronaut's age will be around 44.44 years, resulting in her being approximately 74 years old upon return. This highlights the profound impact of relativistic effects on aging during high-speed space travel.
rojasharma
Messages
64
Reaction score
0
a 30-year old female astronaut leaves her newborn child on Earth and goes on a round-trip voyage to a star that is 40light-years away in a spaceship traveling at 0.90c. what will be the ages of the astronaut and her son when she returns?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The child is unaffected by the effects of traveling at high speed and thus will be 2x40/0.9 years old = 88.89=90 years old. I'm not well enough versed in relativistic effects to calculate the age of the astronaut.
 
To find the age of the astronaut, use the time dilation formula. (She can be viewed as a moving clock.)
 
what would her son's age be then?..is it 80 years +(0.02)(40years)=80.8years??
 
it's how long it would take from the sons perspective for her to get there. That is simple. it takes light 40 years to get there and she is traveling 0.9 times the speed of light so it would, using simple speed/time/distance type workings 40/0.9 = 44.445 years to get there. Then she has to travel back so you double it giving 88.89.
 
makes sense:) thankyou
 
Thread 'Collision of a bullet on a rod-string system: query'
In this question, I have a question. I am NOT trying to solve it, but it is just a conceptual question. Consider the point on the rod, which connects the string and the rod. My question: just before and after the collision, is ANGULAR momentum CONSERVED about this point? Lets call the point which connects the string and rod as P. Why am I asking this? : it is clear from the scenario that the point of concern, which connects the string and the rod, moves in a circular path due to the string...
Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'
Let's declare that for the cylinder, mass = M = 10 kg Radius = R = 4 m For the wall and the floor, Friction coeff = ##\mu## = 0.5 For the hanging mass, mass = m = 11 kg First, we divide the force according to their respective plane (x and y thing, correct me if I'm wrong) and according to which, cylinder or the hanging mass, they're working on. Force on the hanging mass $$mg - T = ma$$ Force(Cylinder) on y $$N_f + f_w - Mg = 0$$ Force(Cylinder) on x $$T + f_f - N_w = Ma$$ There's also...
Back
Top