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World Science Scholars
21.3 Coordinates in Motion
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Module 21: Coordinates in Motion - Exercise 1a & 1b

  1. Question 1 of 2
    1. Question

    Newton didn't know about the subtle features of time as measured by clocks in motion, and would simply have said that clocks in a moving frame are all in synch with themselves and with our clocks in the laboratory. However, Newton would agree, of course, that if a given point PP is viewed from the perspective of a frame that's in motion, then the spatial coordinates of PP in the moving frame will change over time. Let's work out a simple example of this.

    Let PP be the point (2,5)(2,5) in (x,y)(x,y) coordinates, and to be concrete assume the units are meters. Let the (x,y)(x^\prime , y^\prime ) coordinate system align with the (x,y)(x,y) system at t=0t=0, but then move to the right (along the x-axis) with a speed of 3 meters per second. At t=t=4 seconds, what would Newton say are the coordinates of P in the moving system?

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