Tunnel photon timing in two inertial frames
ID: tunnel-photon-timing-in-two-inertial-frames
A runner enters a stationary tunnel of length at the tunnel-frame instant a photon is emitted towards them from the far end. The interception fraction is , where . In the runner frame, with entry at the origin, emission is at and the entrance clock simultaneously reads . The entrance is then ahead by , so the photon travels , not the contracted tunnel length . Subtracting that initial entrance gap from the entrance's motion during the photon flight gives the same interception fraction. This is a concrete application of relativity of simultaneity, length contraction and the Lorentz transformation.
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