Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: John on 27/09/2008 11:07:33
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John asked the Naked Scientists:
If I am sitting on a train moving at a velocity v, and there is a fly moving in the same direction as the train at a velocity relative to me, say u, does that mean that, relative to a specific point on the track behind the train, the fly is moving with a velocity v+u?
If this is the case then does this mean a fly can travel faster than a train?
What do you think?
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John asked the Naked Scientists:
If I am sitting on a train moving at a velocity v, and there is a fly moving in the same direction as the train at a velocity relative to me, say u, does that mean that, relative to a specific point on the track behind the train, the fly is moving with a velocity v+u?
Of course.
If this is the case then does this mean a fly can travel faster than a train?
It depends on the meaning you give to that phrase.
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If it's a Virgin train, then yes [:D]
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Japan trains that goes 400 km/h)
But prefer plane)
Last year I go to Virginia by plane. Yes it has minus, That it was a problem to take a dog on plane withot a special document, I hope you will never face with this problem, If you need, I found the solution here <<<SPAM LINK REMOVED>>> But I don`t spend days on the train. I don`t like to travel by trains, because it`s very long, and there is no opportunity to take a sleep as well
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That's about frames of reference. The flies frame of reference is the train (presumably uniformly moving ). And whatever speed it define from that is related to the flies observation of the train as 'unmoving'. A passenger watching the fly and the trains 'speedometer' ahem, 'simultaneously' might want to define it otherwise :), but he would be wrong.
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Damn, got sucked in by a 'necroed' thread again..