When he was first thinking about relativity (and before he developed his theory), Einstein considered how the universe would look to a person who traveled on a light beam. Suppose you are traveling on a light beam when you encounter a friend who is traveling on a second light beam in the opposite direction. What is your friend\'s speed relative to your reference frame? (Express your answer in terms of c and use the postulates of special relativity to find the correct answer.)
Solution
According to special relativity, the speed of light is same in all reference frames. So even though i am watching my friend(moving with c) from a frame which is itself moving with c(me), my friend\'s speed relative to my reference frame would be c(speed of light).
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When he was first thinking about relativity (and before he developed h.docx
1. When he was first thinking about relativity (and before he developed his theory), Einstein
considered how the universe would look to a person who traveled on a light beam. Suppose you
are traveling on a light beam when you encounter a friend who is traveling on a second light
beam in the opposite direction. What is your friend's speed relative to your reference frame?
(Express your answer in terms of c and use the postulates of special relativity to find the correct
answer.)
Solution
According to special relativity, the speed of light is same in all reference frames. So even though
i am watching my friend(moving with c) from a frame which is itself moving with c(me), my
friend's speed relative to my reference frame would be c(speed of light).
