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Forums
Physics
Special and General Relativity
Length Contraction: Muon vs Earth Frames
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[QUOTE="Nugatory, post: 5840473, member: 382138"] Using a frame in which the Earth is at rest, the bowling ball does contract but this has a negligible effect on the time it takes the bowling ball to reach the surface - it still has to pass through roughly 100 kilometers of air. The best way to understand the muon measurements are: 1) As viewed from the Earth (using a frame in which the Earth and it atmosphere are at rest), the muon covers the uncontracted distance from top of atmosphere to Earth's surface. Divide the distance covered by the speed and you get the flight time, which is greater than the muon lifetime in this frame. However, the muon lives to make it to the surface of the Earth because its clock is running slow relative to the Earth clock. 2) As viewed from the muon (using a frame in which the muon is at rest and the Earth is rushing towards it) the muon's clock is ticking at its normal rate of one second per second. However, the thickness of the Earth's atmosphere is length contracted, so when we divide the distance covered by the speed, we find it takes less time for the surface of the Earth to cover that distance and reach the muon. Again, the muon survives. [/QUOTE]
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Physics
Special and General Relativity
Length Contraction: Muon vs Earth Frames
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