Catholic Scientist writes:
And so are the laser and the detector. They are all motionless within the cars reference frame.
The detector is mounted to the track
Yes, when I posted that I hadn't realized that you had moved to a different example. You should know that if you're reading this thread.
The laser pen is attached to a frame on the rear of the car and is therefore doing whatever the car is doing which is traveling at 149,896,229 meters per second relative to the Salt Lake Flats. The tracks are traveling at zero meters per second relative to the Salt Lake Flats, as they are attached to the Salt Lake Flats.
Since the driver is in the car traveling at 149,896,229 meters per second relative to the Salt Lake Flats so the driver is traveling at 149,896,229 meters per second relative to the Salt Lake Flats.
That means the driver as well as the laser pen is traveling at 149,896,229 meters per second relative to the detectors and sensors, which are attached to the track.
What are you trying to achieve here?
What is the question?
Catholic Scientist writes:
Within a reference frame... that's the part you're not getting. And the laser and detector are not moving within the cars reference frame.
The laser pen is attached to the car and does whatever the car does.
The detector is mounted on the tracks the car is traveling over at 149,896,229 meters per second relative to the Salt Lake Flats.
If you want to say the car is not moving and the tracks with the detector is moving at 149,896,229 meters per second relative to the car you can. You get the same results as the distance increases between the detector and the car by 149,896,229 meters per second.
The point in the vacuum the pulse is emitted is also moving at 149,896,229 meters per second relative to the car. You get the same results as the distance increases between the point the pulse is emitted and the car by 149,896,229 meters per second.
If you had read the thread, you would have realized that I was talking about the previous example and not just wasted all that time typing this stuff.
Newton's first law says the pulse will travel in a straight line at c unless an unbalanced force is exerted upon the pulse.
Newton's first law is about massive objects, not pulses of light. It doesn't apply here.
As long as the pulse is not emitted from the laser pen you would be correct.
The problem is the pulse is emitted into a vacuum at c directly above the detector traveling in a straight line the laser pen was pointed when the pulse was emitted. If the car is not moving the pulse will hit the detector.
If the car is moving the pulse will still be emitted into a vacuum at c directly above the detector traveling in a straight line the laser pen was pointed when the pulse was emitted. The pulse will still hit the detector.
You're way over-complicating this, if you're just trying to understand time-dilation and how we know of it.
Again, what is your goal in posting these messages? Are you trying to understand something specifically?
You've got way to much fluff and not enough content. Cut to the chase.
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