A spaceship, traveling at 0.560c towards a stationary enemy station, shoots a projectile towards the station with a speed of 0.100c relative to the spaceship. What is the speed of the projectile relative to the station?
A) 0.460c
B) 0.575c
C) 0.600c
D) 0.625c
E) 0.660c

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To find the speed of the projectile relative to the station, we use the relativistic velocity addition formula: $ v = \frac{u + v'}{1 + \frac{uv'}{c^2}} $, where $ u = 0.560c $ (speed of spaceship relative to station) and $ v' = 0.100c $ (speed of projectile relative to spaceship). Plugging in the values, we get $ v = \frac{0.560c + 0.100c}{1 + \frac{0.560 \times 0.100}{1}} = \frac{0.660c}{1.056} \approx 0.625c $.

A Spaceship, Traveling at 0