Module 21: Coordinates in Motion - Exercise 1a & 1b
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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 is viewed from the perspective of a frame that's in motion, then the spatial coordinates of in the moving frame will change over time. Let's work out a simple example of this.
Let be the point in coordinates, and to be concrete assume the units are meters. Let the coordinate system align with the system at , but then move to the right (along the x-axis) with a speed of 3 meters per second. At 4 seconds, what would Newton say are the coordinates of P in the moving system?