Relativity

General Relativity
2 Evidence
Pound-Rebka - OHP
clock on rocket compared to clock on
Earth >> t diff agrees w. Gen Rel
prediction

Princ of Equivalence - OHPs

Handouts:
my Gen Rel notes
copies of OHPs
New Scientist article
essay from US textbook

Black holes

Gravitational redshift
1 Description
light loses energy when rising in grav
field >> f dec
redshift when light leaves planet or star
blueshift when light arrives at planet or
star
dec f >> inc T >> time dilation
clocks at altitude run slower than clocks
on Earth
photon

1 Formation of black holes

background of star evolution
gravitational attraction towards centre of
mass balanced by outward photon
pressure + k.e. of ions
k.e. of ions provided by nuclear fusion
every star reaches point where ions have
insufficient k.e. to overcome electric
repulsion >> star collapses in on itself
if 1.4 Ms < mass < 3Ms >> neutron star
if mass > 3Ms >> black hole
2 Characteristics
matter collapses in to point of infinite
density - singularity
escape v >= c >> no matter or light can
leave
Schwarzchild Radius
escape v = c
2GM
v esc = c =
R
2GM
RSch = 2 defines event horizon
c
exercises end of Essay h/o

photon converts to mass at top (E = mc2),

falls through height h, then converts back
to lower energy photon at bottom before
leaving tube
E lost by photon = E lost by mass
hf = mgh
hf
mgh
=
hf
mc 2
f gh

= 2 for small h , ie uniform g

f
c
OHP of 3 clocks to show time dilation for
accelerated FoR
exercises h/o

Steve Udy Teaching Notes

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Printed on 29/6/04