You are going on a trip to Alpha Centauri, which is 4.3 light years away. A light year is the distance traveled by light in one year. One light year is designated as 1
cy, where c is the speed of light and y is 1 year. Hence, Alpha Centauri is a distance of 4.3 cy. You board the ship Star Ship express, which is 150 m long when it is at rest. The spaceship takes off and travels at 99% of the speed of light. You will do a flyby and collect data of the star, and then fly back to Earth. From your frame of reference, the distance is d = 4.3 cy and your velocity is v =0.99c.
1) Find the time it takes you to do the trip. This is the proper time for your frame of
reference. Hint: time = dist/velocity. Remember to consider going from Earth and coming back to Earth! t0= _________ years
2)Your friend stays back on Earth. Find the dilated time that your friend recordsfor your trip. t = _________ years
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