Paradoxes of the theory of relativity
Length Paradox
Consider the following situation (sort of a gedanken experiment). Wolfie and Hilda want to land on the moon. To see if their space ship will fit in the garage on the moon, they fly by and check out the parking place. To them, it seems too small, since it's length contracted.
To Buffy and Bubba, the rocket ship is length contracted, and appears to fit with room to spare. Who is right? They both are. The resolution of the paradox is, once again, to be found in the concept of simultaneity. The length of the space ship, as determined by Buffy and Bubba on the moon, depends on the position of the two ends of the ship at the same time as defined on the moon.
The length of the parking place, as determined by Hildie and Wolfie, depends on the position of the ends of the parking space at the same time as defined by space-ship time. Since they don't agree on simultaneity, they don't agree on the lengths.
