Silly putty lies on a conveyor belt that moves at speed v. A circular stamp stam
ID: 3162317 • Letter: S
Question
Silly putty lies on a conveyor belt that moves at speed v. A circular stamp stamps out silly putty as the putty rushes by beneath it. When you buy these putty in a store, what shape are they? Are they squashed in the direction of the belt, stretched in that direction, or circular? Feel free to work in either the rest frame of the conveyor belt or the rest frame of the cookie factory, but please justify why you do not obtain a different answer working in the other frame. This is a lot like the pole-barn paradox.
Explanation / Answer
The putty is contracted in the direction of belt and is not contracted or elongated in the direction perpendicular to the motion of belt
In the factory frame, moving objects are contracted in the direction of motion. The putty moving at relativistic speed along the belt is contracted in the direction of motion
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