Physics: Principles with Applications (7th Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-32162-592-7
ISBN 13: 978-0-32162-592-2

Chapter 26 - The Special Theory of Relativity - Search and Learn - Page 770: 2

Answer

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Work Step by Step

As we see in the figure below, observer 1 sees that train 2 is shorter than his train since train 2 is moving at speed of $v$ to the left while train 1 is stationary. So, when the first strike occurs when the two ends of the trains are aligned, the two observers notice it. After a while observer on train 1 notice the second strike but he still saw that train 2 does not reach the other end of his train yet so he still thought that observer 2 does not see the second strike. But according to observer 2, the two trains are the same length, so the two strikes occur simultaneously.
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