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Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
VCE Physics
Unit 3
Topic 3
Special Relativity
The World at the Speed of Light.
Einstein’s Contribution.
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Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
Unit Outline
To achieve the outcome the student should demonstrate the knowledge and skills to:
describe Maxwell’s prediction that the speed of light depends only on the electrical and magnetic
properties of the medium it is passing through and not on the speed of the source or the speed of the
medium;
contrast Maxwell’s prediction with the principles of Galilean relativity (no absolute frame of reference, all
velocity measurements are relative to the frame of reference);
interpret the results of the Michelson Morley experiment in terms of the postulates of Einstein’s special
theory of relativity;
- the laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames of reference
- the speed of light has a constant value for all observers;
compare Einstein’s postulates and the postulates of the Newtonian model;
use simple thought experiments to show that
- the elapse of time occurs at different rates depending on the motion of the observer relative to
the event;
- spatial measurements are different when measured in different frames of reference;
explain the concepts of proper time and proper length as quantities that are measured in the frame of
reference in which the objects are at rest;
explain movement at speeds approaching the speed of light in terms of the postulates of Einstein’s
special theory of relativity;
model mathematically time dilation, length contraction and mass increase with respectively the equations
t = toγ, L = Lo/γ, m = moγ where γ = 1/(1-v2/c2)1/2
explain the relation between the relativistic mass of a body and the energy equivalent according to
Einstein’s equation E = mc2
explain the equivalence of work done to increased mass energy according to Einstein’s equation E =
mc2
compare special relativistic and non relativistic values for time, length and mass for a range of situations.
_____________________________________________
1.0 Galilean Relativity
One of the earliest of the great minds to ponder motion, both on Earth and in the heavens, was
Galileo Galilei.
He developed the principle of Galilean Relativity.
This is best shown with a simple example:
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Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
Imagine an observer in a house by the sea shore and another in the windowless hull of a ship.
Neither will be able to determine that the ship is moving at constant velocity by comparing the
results of experiments done inside the house or on the ship.
In order to determine motion these observers must look at each other.
Generalizing these observations Galileo postulated his relativity hypothesis:
any two observers in inertial frames of reference with respect to one another will obtain the
same results for all mechanical experiments.
There is no ______________ inertial frame of reference: all velocity measurements are relative
to the frame of reference.
FRAMES OF REFERENCE
Frames of reference can be of 2 types:
1. Inertial Frames. These are systems (or groups of objects) which are either at _________
or moving with constant ______________________.
2. Non Inertial Frames. These are systems which are ___________________________
1.1 Galilean Motion
In Galileo’s world, the idea of relative motion is clearly understood.
This can be shown with a simple example.
A train carriage is travelling to the right at a constant velocity of 25.0 ms-1.
A boy standing in the carriage throws a ball to the right at a constant velocity of 5.0 ms-1.
The boy in the carriage sees the ball travel away from him at ___________ ms-1
But, an observer standing beside the track, sees the ball moving to the right at ________ ms -1.
So what is the ball’s “correct” speed ?
5.0 ms-1 or 30.0 ms-1?
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VTRAIN = 25.0 ms-1
VBALL = 5.0 ms-1
Stationary observer
Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
BOTH answers are _____________________.
There is no single “correct” answer. The speed of an object depends on where the observer is
when the speed was measured.
Remember, according to Galileo, there is no absolute inertial frame of reference: all velocity
measurements are relative to the frame of reference.
1.2 Isaac Newton The next great mind to influence mankind’s understanding of the
operation of the universe was Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727), when
he developed his 3 laws, first mentioned in his 1687 book
Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica (or just Principia).
Law 1 (The Law of Inertia)
A body will remain at rest, or in a state of ____________ motion,
unless acted upon by a net external ___________.
Law 2 The acceleration of a body is directly proportional to
net force applied and inversely proportional to its ___________.
Mathematically, a = F/m more commonly written as F = ma
Law 3 (Action Reaction Law)
For every action there is an equal and opposite ________________.
These Laws explained Galilean relativity and using Newton's laws, physicists in the 18th and
19th century were able to predict the motions of the planets, moons, comets, cannon balls, etc.
In classical Newtonian mechanics, time was universal and absolute.
1.3 The Clouds Gather For more than two centuries after its inception (in about the 1680’s), the Newtonian view of the
world ruled supreme, to the point that scientists developed an almost blind faith in this theory.
And for good reason: there were very few problems which could not be accounted for using this
approach.
Nonetheless, by the end of the 19th century, new experimental evidence, difficult to explain
using the Newtonian theory, began to accumulate, and the novel theories required to explain
this data would soon replace Newtonian physics.
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Isaac Newton, aged 26
Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
1.4 19 th Century Clouds
In 1884 Lord Kelvin (of temperature scale fame) in a lecture delivered in Baltimore, Maryland,
mentioned the presence of “Nineteenth Century Clouds'' over the physics of the time, referring
to certain problems that had resisted explanation using the Newtonian approach.
Among the problems of the time were:
a) __________ had been recognized as a wave, but the properties (and the very
existence!) of the medium that conveys light appeared inconsistent.
b) The equations describing _________________ and magnetism were inconsistent
with Newton's description of space and time.
c) The orbit of Mercury, which could be predicted very accurately using Newton's
equations, presented a small but disturbingly unexplained discrepancy between
the observations and the calculations.
d) Materials at very _________ temperatures do not behave according to the
predictions of Newtonian physics.
e) Newtonian physics predicted that an oven at a stable constant temperature has
infinite energy.
1.5 The Revolution
The first quarter of the 20th century witnessed the creation of the revolutionary theories which
explained these phenomena.
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Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
They also completely changed the way we understand Nature.
The first two problems concerning the nature of light and electricity and magnetism required the
introduction of the Special Theory of Relativity.
The third item concerning Mercury’s orbit required the introduction of the General Theory of
Relativity.
The last two items low temperature materials and infinite energy ovens can be understood only
through the introduction of a completely new mechanics: _______________ mechanics.
The new theories that superseded Newton's had the virtue of explaining everything Newtonian
mechanics did (with even greater accuracy) while extending our understanding to an even wider
range of phenomena.
1.6 Maxwell’s Contribution Throughout 1700’s and 1800’s, many individual laws about electricity and magnetism had been
discovered, such as Coulomb’s law of
electrostatic force.
James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) had, by 1855, unified some laws and finally by 1873 had
found that all of these laws could be summarised by _______ partial differential equations.
A triumph of unification!
(Which of course is the holy grail of Physics)
One interesting consequence of Maxwell’s unification is that you can calculate the velocity of
electromagnetic waves based on properties of capacitors and inductors.
c = Speed of EM Waves
μ0 = Permeability of free space
ε0 = Susceptibility of free space
In Maxwell’s own words:
This velocity is so nearly that of light, that it seems we have strong reasons to conclude that
light itself (including radiant heat, and other radiations if any) is an electromagnetic disturbance
in the form of waves propagated through the electromagnetic field according to electromagnetic
laws.
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Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
Chapter 2
2.0 19 th Century Physics
Around this time, Physicists were trying to find a way to measure the ABSOLUTE VELOCITY of
an object relative to some fixed point which was COMPLETELY AT REST.
But what, in our universe, is completely at rest ?
Certainly not the __________, which as well as spinning on its axis at 500 ms-1 (1800 kmh-1),
travels around the __________ at 30 kms-1 (108,000 kmh-1).
The sun, of course, is in orbit around the centre of our __________________ at 250 kms -1
(900,000 kmh-1).
And our galaxy is in some kind of orbit amongst the other galaxies (velocity unknown).
SO MUCH FOR USING THE EARTH AS A STATIONARY LABORATORY.
2.1 The Ether By the 1880’s scientists knew that waves transferred energy from one place to another and their
movement depended upon them travelling through a ______________ (water waves in water,
sound waves in air and other materials).
This led them to believe that ALL waves required a medium for travel, and so to development of
the concept of the Luminiferous _______________, (or aether) which was the name given to
the medium through which light supposedly travelled from the sun to earth.
The ether was a hypothetical medium in which it was believed that electromagnetic waves
(visible light, infrared radiation, ultraviolet radiation, radio waves, X-rays, would propagate.
2.2 The Speed of Light
In 1887, Albert A. Michelson and Edward W. Morley working at the Case School in Cleveland,
Ohio, tried to measure the _________________ of the ether, (or more precisely the speed of
the Earth through the ether).
They expected to find the speed of light (symbol, c) _____________ depending on its direction
with respect to the “ether wind”. This result would accord with Galilean relativity.
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Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
Michelson explained his experiment to his children this way: two swimmers race; one struggles
upstream and back while the other swims the same distance across and back. The second
swimmer will always win, if there is any current in the river.
The result of the Michelson-Morley experiment was that the speed of the Earth through the
ether (or the speed of the ether wind) was _______________________.
Therefore, they also showed that there is no need for any ether at all, and it appeared that the
speed of light (in a vacuum) was independent of the velocity of the observer!
2.3 Michelson Morley in Detail The experiment was set up using a “monochromatic” (single colour) light source split into two
beams.
Using an interferometer floating on a pool of _____________, they tried to determine the
existence of an ether wind by observing interference ________________ between the two light
beams. One beam travelling with the "ether wind" as the earth orbited the sun, and the other at
90º to the ether wind.
The interference fringes produced by the two reflected beams were observed in the
_________________. It was found that these fringes did ______ shift when the table was
rotated. That is, the time required to travel one leg of the interferometer never varied with the
time required to travel its normal counterpart. They _____________ got a changing interference
pattern.
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ether
Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
The travel times for the two beams were compared in a very sensitive manner.
If the travel times were different the two beams, when combined, would have produced an
“interference pattern”.
This is the same as the pattern produced when a monochromatic beam of light is allowed to
pass through two narrow slits.
NO ______________ IN THE PATTERN COULD EVER BE DETECTED WHEN THE EQUIPMENT TURNED THROUGH 900
Michelson and Morley repeated their experiment many times up until 1929, but always with the
same results and conclusions.
Michelson won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1907. Probably the only prize ever awarded for a
failed experiment.
The result proved to be an extremely perplexing and frustrating to the physicists of the day who
firmly believed in the ether theory.
The result proved, beyond doubt, that the speed of light is _______________, no matter how
fast an observer was travelling when measuring it.
In other words, it led to the death of the ether concept and, more importantly, the death of
Galilean Relativity
It took nearly 20 years to develop the theory to match this experimental result.
Chapter 3 3.1 Einstein’s Insight
It was Einstein who finally found an answer to the seemingly unbelievable result – that the
speed of light in inertial frames of reference is always the ______________.
The answer was to change the understanding of the term simultaneity.
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Incident Light
Double Slit
Interference Pattern
Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
Two physical events that occur simultaneously in one inertial frame are only simultaneous in
any other inertial frame if they occur at the same time and at the same place. This means:
TIME IS RELATIVE!
The figures to the left, seen from two different inertial frames,
help clarify the concept of simultaneity:
Fig 1:
In the inertial frame of the wagon, the lamps are switched on
simultaneously and the two light impulses reach the girl at the
same time
Fig 2:
In the inertial frame of the observer outside the wagon, it
seems that the _________ lamp is switched on first, although
for the girl in the wagon the lamps are switched on
simultaneously.
3.2 Introducing Relativity
Einstein developed the theory of Special Relativity in 1905 and the more
comprehensive and far more complex theory of General Relativity about
10 years later.
Special Relativity deals with large velocity differences between frames of
reference (Inertial Frames).
General Relativity deals with large acceleration differences between
frames of reference (Non inertial Frames)
At low speeds, Newton’s laws are adequate to explain motion.
But the relativity theories need to be applied to objects travelling at or near c, the speed of light.
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Speeds of objects Inertial Frames Non inertial Frames
Very much less than c Newton’s Laws Newton’s Laws
Plus Fake Forces
Close to c Special Relativity General Relativity
Fig 1
Fig 2
Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
3.3 Special Relativity • The theory of Special Relativity was developed by Einstein in 1905 when, as a 26 year
old, he was working as a clerk in the Swiss Government Patents Office.
• Basically the theory states:
1. The laws of physics are _______________ for all observers, provided they are moving at
constant velocity with respect to one another, i.e., they are all in inertial frames of reference.
2. The SPEED OF LIGHT is _____________________. This is true no matter how fast the
observer is travelling relative to the source of light.
This theory was completely at odds with the classical physics of Aristotle, Galileo and Newton.
After studying the results of the Michelson - Morley experiments, Einstein proposed the
following:
THE SPEED OF LIGHT IS ALWAYS THE SAME, REGARDLESS OF WHO MEASURES IT
AND HOW FAST THEY ARE GOING RELATIVE TO THE LIGHT SOURCE.
From this simple statement a number of startling consequences arise:
Chapter 4 4.0 Time Dilation The first of these consequences is known as “Time ______________”
It requires that, depending on the motion of an observer, time must pass at _____________
rates.
Two observers, one stationary, the other moving near the speed of light, observe the same
event.
In order for each to get the same ___________ for the event, each must see it occur during
different _____________ intervals.
The faster the observer travels the slower the rate at which his time appears to pass to
stationary observer.
In order to demonstrate this change in the rate at which time passes, let us produce a simple
clock.
A photon of light (travelling at c) is bouncing backwards and
forwards between two parallel mirrors.
One back and forth motion of the photon represents one ______ of
the clock.
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Photon Clock
Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
An observer, stationary in space with respect to the Sun, sees the Earth (with its attached
“clock”), go zooming past on its orbit around the sun.
In the time, we (standing on Earth), see the photon bounce back and forth once, the space
observer sees the Earth move a little way along its orbit path.
Hence, if the photon is to strike the mirrors, the space observer requires it to travel on a
_______________ path, as shown.
Clock as seen by Earth bound observer Clock as seen by Space observer
Since the photon MUST travel at the Speed of Light, c, the only logical outcome for the space
observer is to conclude that the photon on Earth takes a ____________ TIME to cover the
APPARENTLY LONGER DISTANCE it needs to travel.
The space observer thus concludes the Earth clock runs slow compared to his clock.
This same argument holds true for the earth bound observer, who would see the space
observer’s clock running slow.
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Earth Earth Earth
Photon
Short Distance Speed = c
Earth Earth Earth
Long Distance
Speed = c
Remember, Speed = distance time
If this has to stay the same
and this gets biggerthis must also get
bigger
Thus, MOVING CLOCKS RUN SLOW.
Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
The mathematical representation of Time Dilation is shown in the formula:
t = γto
γ is called the “_____________ Factor”
where:
t = moving observer’s time as measured by the stationary observer.
to = time measured by stationary observer’s clock. (“proper time”)
v = speed of moving observer.
c = Speed of Light.
• The formula has a number of consequences:
• If v << c, the term v2/c2 approaches zero and the square root term approaches 1.
• Thus t = to and no change in time (the rate at which time passes) is observed.
• As v approaches c (say v = 0.9c), the stationary observer sees the moving observer’s
clock tick over only 0.4 sec for every 1 second on his own clock.
• If v = c, the term v2/c2 = 1 and the square root term becomes zero. Dividing a number by
zero equals infinity.
• Thus, when v = c the time interval becomes ______________. In other words, time stops
passing.
4.1 The Twins Paradox
Twins, Adam and Eve, are thinking how they will age if one of them goes on a space journey,
travelling at say 0.866c.
Will Eve be younger, older, or remain the same age as her brother if she does a round trip of
some years duration ?
Assume that Adam and Eve’s clocks are synchronized before Eve leaves.
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where 1
1 -c2 v2γ =
to
1 -c2 v2t =So
Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
At 0.866c, Adam will “see” Eve’s time pass at exactly _________ the rate his time passes. So
when Eve returns, she will have aged by 1 year for every 2 years Adam has aged.
Thus, Eve is younger than Adam.
However, can you turn the discussion around and say that Eve has been at rest in her space-
ship while Adam has been on a "space journey" with planet Earth?
In that case, Adam must be younger than Eve at the reunion!
Adam is at rest all the time on Earth, i.e., he is in the same inertial frame all the time, but Eve is
not - she will have felt forces when her space-ship accelerates and retards, and Adam will not
feel such forces. So the argument is not an interchangeable one. The travelling twin is the
younger upon their reunion.
P.S. Eve's space-ship has to consume fuel, which means that it costs to keep yourself young!
4.2 Length Contraction The 2nd consequence of light having a constant speed is Length __________________.
An observer sees two set squares, one stationary in his inertial frame,
the other in an inertial frame moving near the speed of light.
How does the speed difference affect the apparent size of the set square ?
Remember the stationary observer sees the moving “frames” clock running slow. To get the
same value for c in each frame, he must measure the length of the set square (in the direction
of travel) to be shorter than his own stationary ruler.
Remember: Speed = distance
time
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v = 0 v = 0.8c
y
x
Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The length contraction only occurs in the direction of travel (x direction) and measurements at
right angles to that direction are unaffected ! (no contraction in the y direction)
The mathematical representation of Length Contraction is shown in the formula.
L = Lo/γ
Where:
L = Length of moving object as measured by stationary observer.
Lo = Length of stationary object measured by stationary observer. (“Proper Length”)
v = speed of moving object.
c = Speed of Light.
The formula has a number of consequences:
1. If the v << c, the square root term approaches 1 and the length is unaffected, i.e. L = Lo
2. As v approaches c, v2/c2 approaches 1 and the square root term approaches 0. Thus, the
length approaches 0 i.e. L = 0.
So, a photon of light travelling at c from the Sun to the Earth makes the journey in ____ time
and travels ______ distance !!!!!!
The moving observer’s view
of the length contracted world
The stationary observer’s view of
the length contracted Superman
4.3 Mass Dilation
The third effect of the invariance of the speed of light is mass ____________________.
As the speed of an object _________________ so too does its ____________ !!!!!!
Under Newton, mass is an ________________ quantity for each object and it is conserved,
never changing for each object. This invariance of mass is the basis of Newton’s 2nd Law (F =
ma), and our own every day experience seems to verify that mass is absolute.
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Lo( 1 -c2 v2
So, L = )
Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
Under Einstein mass is whatever we measure it to be.
We must use an operational definition for mass.
He showed that the mass of an object depends on how fast the object is moving relative to a
stationary observer.
4.4 Mass – Newton v Einstein
Newtonian physics gives good results at
speeds less than ______ of the speed of light.
Einstein’s relativity deals with faster speeds.
The mass of an object does ______ change
with speed, it changes only if we cut off or add
a piece to the object .
As an object moves faster its mass
_____________. (As measured by a stationary
observer).
F = ma means that to accelerate a mass
requires a force, by supplying sufficient force
you can make an object go as fast as you like.
Mass approaches _______________ as
speed approaches c. To reach c would require
infinite force.
Kinetic Energy = ½mv2, since mass does not
change an increase in KE means an increase
in speed.
Since mass changes with speed, a change in
K.E. must involve both a change in speed and
a change in mass.
At speeds close to c most of the change
occurs to the mass.
4.5 Mass - How Fast, How Heavy ? The mass of an object at rest is called its rest mass (m0)
At low velocities the increase in mass is small.
An object travelling at 20% of the speed of light (60,000 kms-1) has an apparent mass only ____
% greater than its rest mass (m0).
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Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
Mathematically:
m = γm0
where:
m = Apparent Mass of the object
m0 = Rest Mass of the object
v = speed of object.
c = Speed of Light.
1. When v << c, the square root term approaches 1, and m = m0
2. As v approaches c, the square root term approaches 0, and m approaches ____________.
There is insufficient energy in the universe to accelerate even the smallest ______________ up
to the speed of light !!!!!!!!!!
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0 20 40 60 80 100
m0
2m0
4m0
6m0
% of Speed of Light
Speed of object as seen by a stationary observer
m0
1 -c2 v2So, m =
Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
4.6 Energy & Mass
Increasing the speed of a ________ requires energy.
The fact that feeding energy into a body increases its mass suggests that the rest mass m0 of a
body, multiplied by c2, can be considered as a quantity of energy.
The truth of this is best seen in interactions between elementary particles. For example, if a
positron and an electron ______________ at low speed (so there is very little kinetic energy)
they both disappear in a flash of electromagnetic radiation.
This EM radiation can be detected and its energy measured.
It turns out to be 2m0c2 where m0 is the mass of the electron (and the positron).
So each particle must have possessed so called “rest energy” of m0c2
Einstein recognised the fundamental importance of the interchangeability of ___________ and
_____________ which is summarised in his famous equation:
E = mc2
where m is the Apparent Mass.
4.7 Rest Energy
If an object is at rest it possesses “rest mass energy” or more simply “rest energy”
Einstein’s equation is then written as:
E = m0c2
Where E = Energy (joules)
m0 = Rest Mass (kg)
c = 3 x 108 ms-1
How much energy does 1 kg of mass, at rest, represent ?
E = m0c2
= (1)(3 x 108)2
= 9 x 1016 Joules
This represents the average annual output of a medium sized Power Station
A Hiroshima sized atomic bomb releases about 1014 Joules, (100,000 billion joules).
How much mass has been converted ?
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Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
E = m0c2
Thus m0 = (1014)/(3 x 108)2
= 1.1 x 10-3 kg
= 1.1 g
As can be seen a tiny mass converts to a huge amount of energy
4.8 Moving Mass
As a mass begins to move it possesses BOTH rest mass energy AND energy of motion (Kinetic
Energy).
Expressing Einstein’s equation as:
E = mc2
Includes both rest mass and kinetic energy
The Kinetic Energy of a fast moving particle can be calculated from:
K.E. = mc2 – m0c2
The relativistic energy of a particle can also be expressed in terms of its momentum (p) in the
expression:
E = mc2 = (p2c2 + m02c4)½
This is essentially defining the kinetic energy of an object as the excess of the object’s energy
over its rest mass energy.
For low velocities this expression approaches the non relativistic kinetic energy expression.
For v/c << 1,
KE = mc2 – m0v2 ≈ ½ m0v2
As an object’s speed increases more and more of the energy goes into increasing _________
and less and less into increasing ____________.
Chapter 5 5.0 The Speed of Light. A Limit ?
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Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
These equations together are called “The Lorentz Transforms”.
Each Lorentz Transform has a limiting factor.
If v > c, then:
• t becomes negative, and time runs _____________________ !!!!!! (the
bullet hits you BEFORE it is fired from the gun).
• L becomes negative, and an object has a length less than zero!!!!!,
• m becomes negative and objects have a mass less than zero!!!!!
• Thus, c (the speed of light) is the limiting factor.
• Speeds greater than c are not possible.
5.1 Relativistic Speed Addition
Imagine that you are standing between two space-ships moving away from you.
One space-ship moves to the left with a speed of 0.75 c
(relative to you) and the other one moves to the right also
with a speed of 0.75 c (again relative to you). At what
speed will each space-ship see the other moving away?
0.75 c + 0.75 c = 1.5 c? No, their relative speed will be
0.96 c (according to the relativistic addition of velocities),
and it cannot, of course, be faster than the speed of light c.
In classical Newtonian mechanics, two different velocities
and are added together by the formula
v” = v’ + v
where v” is the sum of the two velocities.
However, in special relativity, the velocities are added together as
This formula is called the relativistic addition of velocities.
Note that if v’ = c and/or v = c, then v” = c, and for small velocities v, v’ << c, then the classical
formula is regained.
5.2 Special Relativity Experimental Proofs
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v =0.75c v’=0.75c
v” = 0.96c
v” = v’ + v 1 + v.v’
c2
Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
Experimental proof of the for each of the areas of Time Dilation, Length Contraction and Mass
Dilation are available on Earth. These are shown below.
5.3 Relativistic Doppler Effect The Doppler Effect:
Motion towards or away from a source will cause a change in the observed ______________, f
(or wavelength, λ) as compared to the emitted frequency.
All wave phenomena (e.g., water, sound, and light) behave in this way.
Suppose a source emits light of frequency f (or wavelength λ, remembering that c = fλ). Then,
an observer moving with a speed v away from the source, will observe the frequency:
This formula is called the relativistic Doppler formula. Note that f < f0 for all 0 < v < c, i.e., the
frequency which the observer sees, is smaller than the "original" frequency in the inertial frame
of the source.
Observers moving away from the source will see a _______________ in the frequency of the
light, since light with lower frequencies are "more red" and light with higher frequencies are
"more blue." While observers moving towards the source will see a corresponding
________________.
If you are driving towards a red traffic light (λ0 = 650 nm) at a speed of approximately v = 0.17 c,
the traffic light will actually appear to be green (λ = 550 nm)! (0.17 c is approximately 5.0 x 107
ms-1.)
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f = f0 c – v c + v
Drouin Secondary College VCE Physics Unit 3: Relativity
5.5 Special Relativity Conclusion • I leave the last word to Einstein himself who, when asked
to describe Special Relativity in laymen's terms, said:
• “Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems
like an hour.
• Sit with a pretty girl for an hour and it seems like a minute.
• That’s relativity”
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