How Fast Did My Friend Travel to Alpha Centauri and Back?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ADCooper
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AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around calculating the speed required for a friend to travel to Alpha Centauri and back in just 6 years, despite the distance being 4 light-years each way. The user initially calculated a speed of approximately 1.4 times the speed of light, which is not feasible. They recognized the need to apply concepts of time dilation and length contraction from relativity to solve the problem correctly. Ultimately, the user resolved their confusion and indicated they figured out the solution. The thread highlights the challenges of applying relativistic physics to hypothetical scenarios.
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Homework Statement



A friend of yours who is the same age as you travels to the star Alpha Centauri, which is 4 light· year away, and returns immediately. He claims that the entire trip took just 6 years. How fast did he travel? How much older are you than him when he returns?

Homework Equations



\Delta t = \frac{\Delta t_0}{\sqrt{1-\frac{u^2}{c^2}}}

L = L_0 \sqrt{1-\frac{u^2}{c^2}}

Speed = Distance/Time
\vec{u} = \frac{2L_0}{\Delta t_0}

I'm not really sure if \vec{u} is equal to that or the contracted length/dilated time...

The Attempt at a Solution



My original attempt to solve this involved simply dividing the time for the round trip in terms of meters (8 light years ~ 8*10^{16} meters, and the time was 6 years, which I converted to seconds).

This game me an answer of approximately 1.4c, which seems to be clearly impossible. I'm assuming I'm missing something about time dilation and length contraction, but I can't seem to figure out how to use either of these without knowing what either the speed is or the dilated time/contracted length. If I can find the speed, it seems relatively straight forward from there, just use time dilation and subtract the dilated time from the proper time to see how much the person on Earth had aged.
 
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Nevermind, figured it out! Would delete if it was possible
 
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