Solution to 1986 Problem 21


The invariant interval is defined by
\begin{align*}(\Delta s)^2 \equiv (\Delta x)^2 + (\Delta y)^2 + (\Delta z)^2 - c^2(\Delta t)^2\end{align*}
Plug in \Delta x = 2, \Delta y = 0, \Delta z = 2, \Delta t = 2, and c = 1 to find that
\begin{align*}(\Delta s)^2 = 4 + 4 + 0 - 4 = 4 \Rightarrow \Delta s = 2\end{align*}
Hence answer (C) is correct.


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