this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2023
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Conservation of momentum is based on Newton's first law which states "a body at rest tends to stay at rest" so that would imply A. not B.
Those dudes were just chilling, and would still be laying there chilling.
Yeah but the momentum is relative to the portal.
If the blue exit portal was behind the wagon and so moving at the velocity of the orange entry portal, then I would agree that it's A because they move at the same velocity and in the same direction.
But since the blue exit portal is static and the orange one is moving, the people will enter the portal at a relative velocity to the portal which will be transferred to the blue one. Meaning B will occur.
If the portals were on two wagons going in the opposite directions at the same X velocity, then the people would enter at X relative velocity and exit at 2X velocity.
Right, in perspective of the initial orange portal the people are moving. They aren't at rest compared to the portal. The portal is at rest.