Virginia Tech > College of Science > Physics Dept > Tatsu Takeuchi > Special Relativity > Practice Problems > Solution 7
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The Enterprise and the Klingon Battle Cruiser - Solution

  1. C
  2. B
  3. F
  4. E
  5. H
  6. Captain Kirk is correct and Dr. McCoy is wrong.
    The front end of the Battle Cruiser will pass by the rear end of the Enterprise at point C. In the Klingon frame, this is simultaneous with E so that is the space-time point at which the disruptor cannon will be fired. The front end of the Enterprise is at F in the Klingon frame so they will miss. In the enterprise frame, E is simultaneous with H so the front end of the Battle Cruiser will not have reached the rear end of the Enterprise yet. So even though the Battle Cruiser will be shorter due to Lorentz contraction in the Enterprise frame, they will still miss.
    McCoy : Damn it Spock! I'm a doctor. Not a Vulcan physicist!
    Spock : Doctor, you should have gone to Virgina Tech when you were still a pre-med student back on Earth. They have an excellent course on relativity which has been part of their core curriculum since the 20th century!
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