Parking/traffic tickets suck. And if we knew a sure way to get out of them we would. If like us, you too are on the lookout for a good excuse just check out this story from the US...
Physicist Dmitri Krioukov, from University of California, recently challenged a traffic ticket for failing to sufficiently stop at a stop sign with a bit of good old maths. Simple? No. But believable – yes. The equation he used (pictured above) will easily make sense to some. To others, like myself, it requires a little extra explanation. So here it goes... Krioukov explained the officer was mistaken, having confused his car’s real space-time trajectory.
Trajector-what?!
Ultimately Krioukov’s car, because of its length, seemed in the officer’s view as though it hadn’t sufficiently stopped at the stop sign. Meaning, the officer’s perception of reality did not adequately reflect what was reality.
Next time you’re faced with a ticket just explain to the officer the ‘significance of space-time trajectory’. They’ll be so confused they’ll have to believe you!
