Somewhere out in the great void, one spaceship flies past another. A passenger (

Question

Somewhere out in the great void, one spaceship flies past another. A passenger (A) on one spaceship carries out a series of measurements using clocks and metersticks, then makes the following statements, all of which are true:

(i) “Relative to me, that other ship is moving towards Alpha Centauri at 60% of the speed of light.”

(ii) “My spaceship is exactly 200 m long.”

(iii) “That other ship is only 180 m long.”

By an amazing coincidence, a passenger (B) on the other spaceship had also been looking out their window, and had decided to carry out the same set of measurements, after which they made a very similar series of statements regarding speeds, directions, and ship lengths. What did passenger B on the second spaceship say?

Explanation / Answer

B says,

(i) “Relative to me, that other ship is moving away from Alpha Centauri at 60% of the speed of light.”

(ii) “My spaceship is exactly 200 m long.”

(iii) “That other ship is only 180 m long.”

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