How tall is Mount Everest from the perspective of a cosmic ray muon traveling straight down toward the Earth at 0.99c? Observers at rest relative to the ground measure the height of Mt. Everest to be 8848 m.
A) 885 m
B) 6.29 km
C) 1.25 km
D) 176 m

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The height of Mount Everest as measured by a cosmic ray muon traveling at 0.99c is subject to length contraction, a phenomenon predicted by the theory of relativity. The formula for length contraction is $L = L_0 \sqrt{1 - v^2/c^2}$, where $L$ is the contracted length, $L_0$ is the rest length (8848 m in this case), $v$ is the velocity of the object (0.99c), and $c$ is the speed of light. Plugging in the values, we find that the contracted length $L$ is significantly shorter than $L_0$, resulting in a calculated length of approximately 1.25 km.

How Tall Is Mount Everest from the Perspective of a Cosmic