Length Contraction

In physics, length contraction is the phenomenon of a decrease in length measured by the observer of an object which is traveling at any non-zero velocity relative to the observer. This contraction (more formally called Lorentz contraction or Lorentz–FitzGerald contraction after Hendrik Lorentz and George FitzGerald) is usually only noticeable at a substantial fraction of the speed of light. Length contraction is only in the direction parallel to the direction in which the observed body is travelling. This effect is negligible at everyday speeds, and can be ignored for all regular purposes.

Length contraction can be expressed as:-

`l' = l_0 sqrt(1 − v^2/c^2)`

Where:-

• `L_0` = the proper length (the length of the object in its rest frame),
• `L` = the length observed by an observer in relative motion with respect to the object,
• `v` = the relative velocity between the observer and the moving object,
• `c` = the speed of light