A person buys a SUV and discovers that it is too long to fit in the garage (the length of the SUV is 1.3 times the length of the garage). He decides to drive the SUV into the garage at a speed of 0.99 c. Which statement is true?
A) A person standing near the garage sees the SUV fit inside the garage prior to it colliding into the back wall of the garage, but the driver will claim that it never was entirely inside.
B) The driver of the SUV sees that the entire SUV is inside the garage prior to it colliding into the back wall, but the person standing near the garage will claim it never was entirely inside.
C) Both the driver and the person standing near the garage will claim that the SUV was entirely inside the garage prior to the front smashing into the back wall of the garage.
D) Neither the driver nor the person standing near the garage will claim that the SUV was entirely inside the garage.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Due to the relativistic effect of length contraction, a person standing near the garage will see the SUV contracted and fitting inside the garage. However, the driver, in the SUV's frame, will not observe the SUV fitting entirely inside the garage.

A Person Buys a SUV and Discovers That It Is