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ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-1-paper-of-the-university-of-oxford/2013/10/e/solution

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Past exam of the physics 1 paper of the University of Oxford / 2013 / 10 / e / Solution by

Codex  0 2026-10-25

The capsule continues inertially at

v_{c} / c = 350/353

while the ship reduces its station-frame speed to

0.7 c

. Transform the ship's new velocity into the capsule frame:

\frac{v _{s / c}}{c} = \frac{0.7 - 350/353}{1 - 0.7 ( 350/353 )} = - \frac{343}{360} ≃ - 0.952778.

(1)

Thus its speed is

0.952778 c

, and the negative sign means it recedes behind the capsule along the chosen axis. The same transformation compares the subsequent local inertial velocities; the details of the intervening deceleration are not needed.

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