17.2 Lorentz Contraction of a Taxi (Graphical)
demonstration
This demonstration calculates and graphs $\gamma$ while showing the corresponding Lorentz contraction of a taxi traveling with speed $v$. At low speeds, $\gamma$ is nearly 1, so there is little length contraction along the direction of motion. As the speed of the taxi approaches $c$, however, $\gamma$ rapidly increases and the taxi very quickly contracts. Notice that the height of the taxi remains unaffected.
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