Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2008/ib/paper-4/17c/d/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 ib Paper 4 17C d Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
With light signals, , the train-frame relativistic velocity-addition formula gives signal velocities . The endpoints are equally distant from the source in that frame, andThe two reception events are simultaneous in but not in : in the station frame the rear moves toward its light signal while the front moves away. Directly, and , so the Lorentz transformation gives . This is relativity of simultaneity, concerning spatially separated events; it does not contradict the invariant light speed or the causal ordering of events on a single observer's world line.
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