A pole vaulter with a 10-m-long pole parallel to the ground races past you at v

Question

A pole vaulter with a 10-m-long pole parallel to the ground races past you at v 0.8c. He is at the center of the pole. Firecrackers at the ends of the pole explode, and, according to the pole vaulter, a short time later flashes of light arrive at the pole vaulter at the same instant of time. Are the explosions simultaneous in the pole vaulter's reference frame? If not, which firecracker (the right one or the left one) explodes first? Explain. Are the explosions simultaneous in your reference frame? If not, which firecracker (the right one or the left one) explodes first? Explain.

Explanation / Answer

4. as the flashes of light arrive at the same instant from the front and the rear end of the pole for the pole vaulter, in his frame of reference, the expllosion of firecrackers at the end of the pole vault were a simultaneous event, and both of them happened together and hence the light of the events reached tghe pole vaulter simultaneously

for an observer on ground, the explosion on the front end of the pole happened after and as the pole vaulter is running towards the event in space accoring to an observer outside, the light from this event takes less time to reahc the pole vaulter as compared to the light of the explosion of the firecracker on the rear of the pole< WHICH HAPPENDED EARLier. hence for the observer outside, the left fire cracker explodes first if the pole vaulter raced past from the left direction, and the right firecracker explodes first if the pole vaulter raced from the right

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse A
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.