PH142GeneralPhysicsII

ClassA
Ch.33:Relativity
1
Q:
Thelawsofmechanics(Newtonslaws)
:Speedofmotiondependsonareferenceframerelativespeed
Q:relativespeedoflight?!
Thelawsofmechanics(Newtonslaws)
Thelawsofelectromagnetism(Maxwellsequations)
:Speedofmotiondependsonareferenceframerelativespeed
:Speedoflightisconstant,regardlessofareferenceframe
Speedoflight,c
Current understanding: ultimate speed
No matter how much energy is given to any particle having mass,
its speed can never equal or exceed the ultimate limiting speed c
19
th
C: can be changed by medium
- physicists thought that light waves were like other waves,
needing a material medium in which to propagate
- They called that medium the ether
- Then speed of light can be changed depending on a reference frame
- Then Earths motion relative to the ether?
TheMichelsonMorleyexperiment
totestfordifferencesinthespeedoflightindifferentdirections
TheCopernicanparadigm(Earthdoesnthaveaspecialstatus)andastronomicalobservati
onsshowthatEarthcantbeatrestrelativetotheether
ButtheMichelsonMorleyexperimentshowsthatitisntmovingrelativetotheether.
contradiction
BeforeA.Einstein
Contradiction:
Earthcantbeatrestrelativetotheether.
theMichelsonMorleyexperimentshowsthatitisntmovingrelativetotheether.
Dichotomy:
Thelawsofmechanics(Newtonslaws)arevalidinanyinertialreferenceframe.
principleofGalileanrelativity.
thelawsofelectromagnetism(Maxwellsequations)seemtobevalidonlyinonesp
ecialreferenceframe.
Namely,thereferenceframeatrestwithrespecttotheether.
In1905,26yearoldAlbertEinsteinresolvedb
oththecontradictionandthedichotomywith
hisspecialtheoryofrelativity
Specialtheoryofrelativity:
Englishtranslation:
http://www.fourmilab.ch/etexts/einstein/specrel/www/
Specialtheoryofrelativity:
Twopostulates:
1. thelawsofphysicsarethesameinallinertialreferenceframes!
2. Thespeedoflightinvacuumhasthesamevaluecinalldirection
sandinallinertialreferenceframes
*othermeasures(space,time)canbechanged!
* inertial frame of reference : describes time homogeneously and space homoge
neously, isotropically, and in a time-independent manner.
Einsteinsresolution
[dichotomy]bothmechanicsandelectromagnetismarebotharevalidinallinertialrefer
enceframes.
[contradiction]thereisnoether,sotheresnocontradictioninvolvingEarthsmotionthr
oughit.
Butthenwithrespecttowhatdoeslightpropagateatspeedc?
Sincethephenomenonoflightwavespropagatingatc followsfrom
Maxwellsequations,thisresultmustbevalidinallinertialreferenceframes.
Thereforeallobserversininertialreferenceframesthatis,allobserversinuniform
motionwillmeasurethesamespeedforlight.
Arelativisticquandary
:allinertialobserversmeasurethesamespeedforlight?!
Twoobserversinmotionrelativetoeachotherstillmeasurethesamespeedforthe
samelight.
Neithercanclaimtobereallyrightbecauserelativityrulesoutanyparticularrefer
enceframebeingspecial.
Itmakesnosensetosaythatoneobserverismovingandanotherisnt.
Conceptsofabsolutemotionandabsoluterestaremeaninglessinrelativity.
Onlyrelativemotionmatters.
Spaceandtimeinrelativity
:newconceptofspaceandtimeneededtoresolvethequandary
Measuresofspaceandtimedependononesframeofreference.
Theresnopreferredframeofreference
noonecanclaimtohavetherightmeasuresofspaceandtime.
Thereforemeasuresofspaceandtimesimplyarentabsolutequantities.
Thequandaryoftwoobserversmeasuringthesamespeedforlightisresolved
becausethemeasuresoftimeandspaceeachuses
tocalculatethespeedaredifferent.
:theycanbothgetthesamespeedeventhoughtheyreinrelativemotion.
Timeisrelative:alightboxexample
the time between two events depends on the reference frame.
(a)theboxisatrest,thelighttravelsapathoflength2L,anditgoesatspeedc.
(b)theboxismoving,thelighttakesalongerpath.Butitstillgoesatspeedc.
Sothetimebetweenitsdepartureandreturntothesourceislonger!
Timedilation
thetimebetweentwoeventsisshortestinareferenceframewhere
theeventsoccuratthesameplace
thetimeislongerinaframewheretheeventsoccuratdifferentplaces
Thisphenomenonoftimedilation isdescribedquantitativelyby
whereismeasuredontheclockC inthediagram,andt ismeasuredonthe
twosynchronizedclocksC
1
andC
2
.
A ' t = At 1 v
2
c
2
A ' t
Lengthcontraction
IftheclocksC
1
andC
2
inthepreviousslideareadistancex apart
intheframeinwhichtheyreatrest,theninthereferenceframeofclockC,
movingatvwithrespecttoC
1
andC
2
,thedistanceis
A ' x = Ax 1 v
2
c
2
Relativityofsimultaneity
Two rods pass in a reference frame ;
both are moving at the same speed
their ends coincide simultaneously
In a frame where the lower rod is at rest
their right ends coincide first.
TheLorentztransformations
:relatespaceandtimecoordinatesofevents
asmeasuredintworeferenceframesinrelativemotion
Timedilation,lengthcontraction,andtherelativityofsimultaneityareallinstancesoft
heLorentztransformations
S
S
v
Ultimatespeed
(ofanyparticlehavingmass)
From the theory of relativity
(Lorentz transform)
From the experiment
Measured kinetic energy
of an accelerated electron
k
i
n
e
t
i
c

e
n
e
r
g
y
Velocityasafractionofthespeedoflight
Newtonian prediction
Speedofmuon isfasterthanc?
Speedofmuon isfasterthanc?
Speedofmuon isfasterthanc?
(Washington Post) This story was written by Brian Vastag
A second experiment at the European facility that reported subatomic particles zoo
ming faster than the speed of light -- stunning the world of physics -- has reac
hed the same result, scientists said late Thursday.
The "positive outcome of the [second] test makes us more confident in the result," s
aid Fernando Ferroni, president of the Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics, in a state
ment released late Thursday. Ferroni is one of 160 physicists involved in the internati
onal collaboration known as OPERA (Oscillation Project with Emulsion Tracking Appa
ratus) that performed the experiment.
While the second experiment "has made an important test of consistency of its resul
t," Ferroni added, "a final word can only be said by analogous measurements perfor
med elsewhere in the world."
That is, more tests are needed, and on other experimental setups. There is still a la
rge crowd of skeptical physicists who suspect that the original measurement do
ne in September was an error
Relativisticvelocityaddition
twospacecraftapproachEarth,eachmovingat0.8c relativetoEarth
InshipAsreferenceframe,shipBsspeedis1.6c ?!(x)
Differentmeasuresoftimeandspaceindifferentreferenceframes
velocitiesdontsimplyadd
Whenanobjectismovingatvelocityu' relativetoareferenceframeS',andS' ism
ovingatvelocityv relativetoframeS,thentheobject'svelocityrelativetoS is

u =
' u + v
1+ uv c
2
=
0.8c + 0.8c
1+ 0.8c
( )
0.8c
( )
c
2
=
1.6c
1.64
= 0.98c
Energyandmomentuminrelativity
2 2
is
1
mu
u p
u c
=

mtm ofanobjectofmassm movingwithvelocity
- for low velocities (u<<c), it reduced to the Newtonian expression
p mu =

Thetotalenergyoftheobjectis
2
2 2
2
2
2
( 1)
1
mc
mc
E mc mc
u c
= = = +

Therestenergy the kinetic energy

forlowvelocities,thekineticenergyreducestotheNewtonianexpression
K =
1
2
mu
2
TheenergymtmrelationandE=mc
2
In relativity, energy and momentum are related by
E
2
= p
2
c
2
+ (mc
2
)
2
anobjectwithzeromtm (e.g.,anobjectthatsnotmovingrelativetosomeobs
erver)stillhasitsrestenergymc
2
massandenergyareinterchangeable,withtheconversionfactorc
2
.
AsystemthatemitsinternalenergyE losesmassequaltoE/c
2
AsystemthatgainsinternalenergyE gainsmassequaltoE/c
2
Thisinterchangeabilityappliestoall energytransfers
Eventhoughitscommonlybutmistakenlyappliedonlytonuclearenergy.
25
Quickquestion:
Therestenergyofaprotonis938MeV.Withoutdo
inganycalculations,quicklyestimatethespeedofa
protonwithtotalenergy1TeV (10
12
eV).
A.
B.
C.
v c ~
0.5 v c ~
0.1 v c ~
Electromagnetismandrelativity
Newtonianmechanicsneedsmodificationforconsistency
withtherelativityprinciple.
e.g.therelativisticexpressionsforenergyandmomentum
Butelectromagnetismrequiresnomodifications.
Maxwellsequationsarefullyconsistentwiththerelativityprinciple.
Furthermore,relativityrevealshowelectricityandmagnetismareintimatelyrelated.
length contraction changes the charge densities, mak
ing the wire negative
Generalrelativity
[equivalenceprinciple] acceleratedmotionandbeingatrestinagravitational
field arephysicallyidentical
Accordingtogeneralrelativity,aballwillfall
thesamewayinanacceleratingrocket(left)
asitdoesinagravitationalfield,
suchasonEarth(right).
gravityisntaforcebutthegeometricalcurvatureofspacetime.
Masscurvesspacetime
Objectsmovesinthestraightest
possiblepathsgeodesics
incurvedspacetime
A simulated black hole of ten solar masses as seen from a distance of 600 kilometers
with the Milky Way in the background.
Specialrelativity:1pagesummary
Specialrelativityisatheoryofthestructureofspacetime.Specialrelativityisbasedon
twopostulateswhicharecontradictoryinclassicalmechanics:
1. Thelawsofphysicsarethesameforallobserversinuniformmotionrelativetoonean
other.
2. Thespeedoflightinavacuumisthesameforallobservers,regardlessoftheirrelative
motionorofthemotionofthesourceofthelight.
Theresultanttheoryagreeswithexperimentbetterthanclassicalmechanics,e.g.intheMichels
onMorleyexperimentthatsupportspostulate2,butalsohasmanysurprisingconsequences.So
meoftheseare:
Relativityofsimultaneity:Twoevents,simultaneousforoneobserver,maynotbe
simultaneousforanotherobserveriftheobserversareinrelativemotion.
Timedilation:Movingclocksaremeasuredtotickmoreslowlythananobserver's
"stationary"clock.
Lengthcontraction:Objectsaremeasuredtobeshortenedinthedirectionthattheyare
movingwithrespecttotheobserver.
Massenergyequivalence:E=mc
2
,energyandmassareequivalentandtransmutable.
Maximumspeedisfinite:Nophysicalobject,messageorfieldlinecantravelfasterthan
thespeedoflightinavacuum