Mirror B Hit by Photon Beam from A

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the relativistic effects of photon beams in different frames of reference (FoR) involving two observers, A and A', and their respective mirrors, B and B'. When photon A fires a beam towards mirror B, the observer at A perceives the beam hitting B, while the observer at A' sees the beam pass through the transparent glass A' and reach mirror B'. The key conclusion is that due to the high velocity of frame S', the beam does not interact with mirror B' from A's perspective, leading to the assertion that the beam will not hit either mirror when considering both frames of reference.

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Physicists, students of relativity, and anyone interested in the behavior of light and motion in different frames of reference will benefit from this discussion.

mananvpanchal
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Hello,

There are two FoR S and S'. A and B in S FoR, A' and B' in S' FoR. A is a source of photons and B is a mirror. A' is a transparent glass and B' is a mirror. S' is moving to the right direction. Think that there is very negligible distance between A and A'.

photon_destination_01.JPG


Now, A fires a photon beam such that the beam passes though middle of the transparent glass A'. S' is moving with high speed, so mirror B' does not stop the beam. Observer at A sees that the beam reaches to mirror B.

But, observer at A' sees that S is moving and the beam passes his glass A' and reaches to mirror B'. The beam does not reach to mirror B from his perspective.

The question is which mirror would be hit by the beam?
 
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I don't understand what you mean by "S' is moving at very high speed so mirror B' does not stop the beam". What does S's motion have to do with whether or not the mirror stops the beam? Are you saying that mirrors B and B' are of "relatively" small width and so S' has passed the position by the time the beam reaches there? If so then the beam will not hit S' from any frame of reference.
 

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