<p align="right">Last Update: <font color="#4f81bd">November 25, 2024</font></p> ## BIG IDEAS - Predicted by [[Special Relativity|Einstein's theory of Special Relativity]] - Length contraction arises because events that are simultaneous in one [[Reference frame|frame of reference]] may not be simultaneous in another. - The amount of contraction depends on the relative velocity between the observer and the moving object. As the object's speed approaches the speed of light, the length contraction becomes more significant. - Length contraction only affects the dimensions of an object that are parallel to its direction of motion. --- ### Formula $L \ = \ L_0 \sqrt{1 \ - \ \frac{v^2}{c^2}}$ where $L$ is the contracted length, $L_0$ is the length of the object in its rest frame, $v$ is the relative velocity between the observer and the moving object, and $c$ is the speed of light in a vacuum. ### Related Topics --- [[Home|Home]] | [[The Universe]] | [[Special Relativity]] | [[Length Contraction]] | [[Spacetime]] | [[Mass-Energy Equivalence]]