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Inertial Reference Frame:
One in which Newton’s first law is valid.
Earth is rotating and therefore not an inertial
reference frame, but can treat it as one for
many purposes.
A frame moving with a constant velocity with
respect to an inertial reference frame is
itself inertial.
Relativity Principle:
The basic laws of physics are the same in all
inertial reference frames.
If Newton’s laws are valid in one reference
frame, then they are also valid in another
reference frame moving at a uniform
velocity relative to the first system.
This is referred to as the Newtonian principle of
relativity or Galilean invariance.
x x vt 1. Parallel axes
x x vt
2. S’ has a constant relative
y y velocity (here in the x-direction)
with respect to S.
y y
z z 3. Time (t) for all observers is a
Fundamental invariant, i.e., it’s
z z
t t the same for all inertial
observers. t t
This principle works well for mechanical
phenomena.
However, Maxwell’s equations yield the
velocity of light; it is 3.0 x 108 m/s.
So, which is the reference frame in which light
travels at that speed?
Scientists searched for variations in the speed
of light depending on the direction of the
ray, but found none.
This experiment was designed to measure the
speed of the Earth with respect to the
ether.
The Earth’s motion around the Sun should
produce small changes in the speed of
light, which would be detectable through
interference when the split beam is
recombined.
The Michelson interferometer
is sketched here, along with an
analogy using a boat traveling
in a river.
This interferometer was able to measure
interference shifts as small as 0.01 fringe,
while the expected shift was 0.4 fringe.
However, no shift was ever observed, no matter
how the apparatus was rotated or what time
of day or night the measurements were made.
The possibility that the arms of the apparatus
became slightly shortened when moving
against the ether was considered, but a full
explanation had to wait until Einstein came
into the picture.
x vt
x
1 v / c2 2
y y
z z
t vx / c 2
t
1 v2 / c 2
1. The laws of physics have the same form in all
inertial reference frames.
2. Light propagates through empty space with
speed c independent of the speed of source or
observer.
or
v/c
1
1 v / c 2 2
m0 = rest mass
Momentum:
A basic result of special relativity is that
nothing can equal or exceed the speed of
light. This would require infinite momentum
– not possible for anything with mass.
At relativistic speeds the formula for energy
is modified as well.
Kinetic Energy:
m = relativistic mass
m0 = rest mass
Total Energy:
total energy
rest energy
Combining the relations for energy and
momentum gives the relativistic relation
between them:
All the formulas presented here become the
usual Newtonian kinematic formulas when
the speeds are much smaller than the
speed of light.
There is no rule for when the speed is high
enough that relativistic formulas must be
used – it depends on the desired accuracy
of the calculation.
40.] How much work must be done to increase the speed of an electron from
rest to (a) 0.50c, (b) 0.990c, (c) 0.9990c?
44.] What is the speed of an electron whose kinetic energy is 100MeV?
45.] A particle has a speed of 0.990c in a laboratory reference frame. What are
its kinetic energy, its total energy, and its momentum if the particle is (a) a
proton and (b) an electron?
[Assignment: 42, 48, 54]
The predictions of special relativity have been
tested thoroughly, and verified to great
accuracy.
The correspondence principle says that a more
general theory must agree with a more
restricted theory where their realms of
validity overlap. This is why the effects of
special relativity are not obvious in
everyday life.