Answer to Question #111206 in Mechanics | Relativity for John Dawson

Question

Relativity question: Three objects, A, B, C, floating together in distant space side by side with internal clocks ticking in sync, a force is applied momentarily to B & C so that they accelerate away from A then travel away from A at some constant speed resulting in the clocks in B & C ticking slower than the clock in A. Now another force is momentarily applied to B in the opposite direction rendering B and A once again not moving in relation to one another while C continues to move away from B and A.
Will the clocks in B and A once again be in sync when they cease to move in relation to one another?
Will the clock in C tick slower than the clock in B after the force on B renders it stationary with respect to A?

Answer 1

The clocks B and A will not be in sync when they cease to move in relation to one another because B already moved with speed hiigher than A and the time for B was slower. Also, since B expereinced transgressions from inertial to non-inertial frame of reference and vice versa, the clock B will lag after clock A.

The clock in C will tick slower than the clock in B after the force on B renders it stationary with respect to A because C continues moving at a high speed while B rests. However, at the moment when B just stopped, C and B will be still synchronized.