Bell's Spaceship paradox

This famous paradox is about the distance between two identicaly
accelerating rockets starting from rest from an inertial lab frame. It
is described i.e in:

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/SR/spaceship_puzzle.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell's_spaceship_paradox

It illustrates the problem of defining a "physical"distance (something
we would call"proper distance") in non inertial frames due to the
breakdown of simultaneity.

There is not only one definition and they do not give always the same
result:(which one is correct?).

In the Wiki article, one tries to avoid the difficulty in considering
that the two rockets will stop their engine after the same ellapsed
proper time continuing flight in inertial frames. So one can perform
easily the distance "d" between rocket 1 and 2 in lab frame and this
distance "D" in rocket 1 frame using plain Lorentz transform group.
The result is that (D = d* gamma) which looks fine, but the conclusion
looks quite odd to me, as it is said that a string linking the 2
rockets should break according to this formula.
I thought that, in SR, the Lorentz "contraction" between two inertial
systems was not physical and would not involve the string to break.
Can someone help me to understand whether and in case where I am
wrong?

Notice also that this solution does not describe the situation when
the 2 rockets are accelerating, but the result of such situation when
freezed..

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Ton of Bricks Paradox/Contradiction?
    ... As far as the rockets are concerned, ... The rockets are a distance D apart. ... If the metersticks are at rest in the moving frame, ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: A message to non-relativists
    ... the distance between the objects is seen to get shorter. ... > distance as determined in the rest frame between the rockets must remain the ... is a moving inertial frame rotated, ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: Bells Spaceship paradox
    ... me thinks you overlooked the simultaneity issue. ... In Minkowski diagram in the lab frame, I draw the 2 ... In the Wiki variant the rockets stopped their engine and inertial ... the distance between the 2 rockets decrease in the same ...
    (sci.physics.research)
  • Re: Bells Spaceship paradox
    ... In Minkowski diagram in the lab frame, I draw the 2 ... In the Wiki variant the rockets stopped their engine and inertial ... the distance between the 2 rockets decrease in the same ... You will enjoy the twin paradox (about proper time), ...
    (sci.physics.research)
  • Re: A message to non-relativists
    ... the distance between the objects is seen to get shorter. ... > you deliberately make the accelerations of the objects to be different ... > by 'stretching' the original proper distance in the moving frame. ... distance as determined in the rest frame between the rockets must remain the ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)