Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 ia Paper 4 4B Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-07
For , the Lorentz transformation with coincident origins isFor two simultaneous events in , , so . Distinct spatial positions therefore generally give different times in the boosted frame: this is relativity of simultaneity.
Choose the emission events at and . After emission, the photon world lines are and . Applying the Lorentz transformation to either givesThus the two photons move at speed in on parallel lines whose intercepts differ by . Measuring their positions at the same after both emissions gives the photon separation under a collinear Lorentz boost:This separation is constant. It is not the contracted distance between the stationary sources: the two emission events are not simultaneous in , and one photon has already moved when the other is emitted.