Special Relativity; Time Dilation & FIRST POSTULATE OF RELATIVITY

Length Contraction, and General

Relativity -the laws of physics are the same and
can be stated in their simplest form in all
Introduction to Special Relativity inertial frames of reference.

Relativity -study of how different the definitions of relativistic momentum

observers measure the same event. (p =mv) and energy must be altered to fit
Galileo and Newton developed the first the postulate
correct version of classical relativity.
Einstein developed the modern theory of E = mc²
relativity.
Einstein's Second Postulate
Modern relativity:
deals with the speed of light
Special relativity deals with observers
who are moving at constant velocity. based on the various attempts to
General relativity deals with observers measure the speed of light
who are undergoing acceleration.
Michelson-Morley Experiment
Einstein's Postulates -demonstrated that the speed of light in
a vacuum is independent of the motion
SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY is of the Earth about the Sun
based upon Einstein's Postulates. light does not need a medium to
propagate
Einstein's First Postulate independent of the motion of the
source relative to the observer
-relates to reference frames; all everyone observes light to move at
velocities are measured relative to some speed c
frame of reference. based on the laws of electricity and
magnetism that travels in constant
Inertial Reference Frame -a body at speed
rest remains at rest and a body in motion
moves at a constant speed in a straight SECOND POSTULATE OF
line unless acted on by an outside force. RELATIVITY

- A car’s motion is measured relative to -speed of light is a constant,

its starting point or the road it is moving independent of the relative motion of the
over. source.

- A planet’s orbit is measured relative to c = 299 792 458 m/s ~ 3.0 x 10^8 m/s
the star it is orbiting around.
this is always true in vacuum;
Why do we have to measure things in however the speed of light changes
INERTIAL REFERENCE FRAME? depending on the medium to which it
interacts.
. . . because the laws of physics
seem to be the simplest in inertial Simultaneity and Time Dilation
frames. Not only that, but they should be
the same in all inertial frames, since Einstein’s Gedankenexperiments
there is no preferred frame and no
absolute motion. Austrian physicist Ernst Mach and
French mathematician Henri Poincaré
had critiqued classical mechanics or
contemplated the behavior of light and The fixed observer measures x =60 km
the meaning of the ether before Einstein. and t =1 hour. The moving observer also
measures t =1 hour, and so, according
Their efforts provided a background to Newton’s equation, the moving
for Einstein’s unique approach to observer will measure what distance
understanding the universe, which he (x')?
called in his native German a
Gedankenexperiment, or “thought For Einstein, The two people do not
experiment.” actually observe the lightning strike at
the same time since each is at a
In classical physics . . . For a train different distance from the event, the
moving at 100km/hr, and an arrow travel times differ.
moving at 200km/hr. The arrow will
arrive at a target at different velocities Suppose lightning strikes two trees; from
a fixed observer, 60 km ahead and 60
- For Observer A (moving) it will be km behind, exactly as the moving
300km/hr. observer passes the fixed observer.
- For Observer B (stationary) it will be
200km/hr Fixed observer -observes the event
simultaneously since the event travels
In modern physics, If the arrow were the same distance.
light, it will arrive at the target at the
same velocity, c. Moving observer -observes the event
at different times since the motion
Simultaneity moves him closer to one event than the
other
In order to make the speed of light
constant, Einstein replaced absolute In summary, Two events are defined to
space and time with new definitions that be simultaneous if an observer
depend on the state of motion of an measures them as occurring at the
observer. same time (such as by receiving light
from the events). However, two events
Consider two observers and a train. are not necessarily simultaneous to all
observers
- Observer 1 stands alongside a straight
track Time Dilation
- Observer 2 rides a train moving at
constant speed along the track The consideration of the measurement
of elapsed time and simultaneity leads to
Each views the world relative to his own an important relativistic effect.
surroundings.
Time dilation -time passing slower for
For Newtonian Reference Frames, x′ = x an observer who is moving relative to
− vt; another observer.

x -distance measured by the fixed How does the elapsed time the
observer; astronaut measures compare with the
x′ -distance measured by the moving elapsed time measured for the same
observer; event by a person on the Earth?
v -speed of the moving observer
t -time at which the event happens (a) An astronaut measures the time Δto
for light to cross her ship using an
Suppose the train moves at 40 km/hr. electronic timer. Light travels a distance
After one hour, a tree 60 km from the 2D in the astronaut’s frame.
train’s starting point is struck by lightning.
(b) A person on the Earth sees the light This implies that v cannot exceed c. As v
follow the longer path 2s and take a approaches c , Δt approaches infinity.
longer time Δt. This would imply that time in the
(c) These triangles are used to find the astronaut’s frame stops at the speed of
relationship between the two distances light.
2D and 2s.
If v exceeded c , then we would be
Astronaut sees a total distance -2D taking the square root of a negative
Earth-bound observer sees a total number, producing an imaginary value
distance -2s for Δt.

Light travels at a speed c in both frames, Suppose a cosmic ray colliding with a
and because time is the distance divided nucleus in the Earth’s upper atmosphere
by speed, the time measured by the produces a muon that has a velocity, v =
astronaut is: 0.950c. The muon then travels at
constant velocity and lives 1.52μs as
Proper time -the time measured by an measured in the muon’s frame of
observer at rest relative to the event reference. How long does the muon live
being observed. as measured by an Earth-bound
observer?
Time measured by Earth-bound
observer. Suppose a cosmic ray colliding with a
nucleus in the Earth’s upper atmosphere
Distance (L) the astronaut moves as the produces a muon that has a velocity, v =
light goes across her ship. In the frame 0.950c. The muon then travels at
of the Earth-bound observer, constant velocity and lives 1.52μs as
measured in the muon’s frame of
Proper time measured by an observer, reference. How long does the muon live
like the astronaut moving with the as measured by an Earth-bound
apparatus, is smaller than time observer?
measured by other observers.
Another implication of the preceding
Since those other observers measure a example is that everything an astronaut
longer time , the effect is called time does when moving at the speed of light
dilation. relative to the Earth takes 3.20 times
longer when observed from the Earth.
The Earth-bound observer experiences Does the astronaut sense this?
time dilate (get longer). Alternatively,
according to the Earth-bound observer, All methods of measuring time in her
time slows in the moving frame, since frame will be affected by the same factor
less time passes there. of 3.20. This includes her wristwatch,
heart rate, cell metabolism rate, nerve
All clocks moving relative to an observer, impulse rate, and so on. She will have
including biological clocks such as aging, no way of telling, since all of her clocks
are observed to run slow compared with will agree with one another because
a clock stationary relative to the their relative velocities are zero. Motion
observer. is relative, not absolute.
The Twin Paradox Length Contraction

An intriguing consequence of time Have you ever driven on a road that

dilation is that a space traveler moving seems like it goes on forever? If you look
at a high velocity relative to the Earth ahead, you might say you have about 10
would age less than her Earth-bound km left to go. Another traveler might say
twin. the road ahead looks like it’s about 15
km long. If you both measured the road,
If a 40-year old astronaut is moving at however, you would agree.
γ=30.0 takes a 2-year trip in another star
system, upon her return ... Traveling at everyday speeds, the
distance you both measure would be the
a. What will her age be? same. However, that this is not true at
b. How long will her travel be on Earth? relativistic speeds. Close to the speed of
c. What will her twin sister's age be? light, distances measured are not the
The situation would seem different to the same when measured by different
astronaut. The spaceship would seem to observers.
be stationary and the Earth would
appear to move. (This is the sensation One thing all observers agree upon is
you have when flying in a jet.) relative speed. Even though clocks
measure different elapsed times for the
If the astronaut looks out the window of same process, they still agree that
the spaceship, she will see time slow relative speed, which is distance divided
down on the Earth by a factor of γ = 30.0. by elapsed time, is the same.
To her, the Earthbound sister will have
aged only 2/30 (1/15) of a year, while This implies that distance, too, depends
she aged 2.00 years. on the observer’s relative motion. If two
observers see different times, then they
The two sisters cannot both be correct. must also see different distances for
relative speed to be the same to each of
The situations are not symmetric, and it them.
is not correct to claim that the astronaut
will observe the same effects as her What distance does a rocket covers if:
Earth-bound twin.
For an Earth-bound observer it travels at
If you use special relativity to examine a velocity of 0.90c in for 7.2μs?
the twin paradox, you must keep in mind
that the theory is expressly based on For an astronaut in the rocket it travels
inertial frames, which by definition are for only 2.2μs?
not accelerated or rotating.
The distance between the same two
For these two girls, age = 11 y/o events depends on who measures it and
Callisto is moving at v = 0.890c how they are moving relative to it.
Europa stayed on Earth
Proper Length (Lo) -is the distance
How old will Callisto be when she gets between two points measured by an
back to Earth after visiting an exoplanet observer who is at rest relative to both of
in the Andromeda Galaxy that took her the points (Earth-bound)
4.5 years oneway?
Length measured by an observer in
How old will Europa be? motion.

The Earth-bound observer measures the

proper length, because the points at
which the rocket departed is stationary
relative to the Earth. To the astronaut in General Relativity
the rocket, the Earth, air, and clouds are
moving, and so the distance it sees is Spacetime tells matter how to move;
not the proper length. Matter tells spacetime how to curve. -John
Wheeler
To develop an equation relating
distances measured by different General relativity is physicist Albert
observers, we use the equation for Einstein's understanding of how gravity
affects the fabric of space-time. The
- velocity relative to the Earth-bound: theory, which Einstein published in 1915,
- the velocity relative to the moving expanded the theory of special relativity
that he had published 10 years earlier.
observer:
Special relativity argued that space and
- and since the velocity is equaL,
time are inextricably connected, but that
theory didn't acknowledge the existence of
Substituting the values for Δt = γΔto gravity.
we get the formula for Length
Contraction: The gravitational force tugging between
two bodies depends on how massive each
one is and how far apart the two lie. Even
as the center of the Earth is pulling you
toward it, your center of mass is pulling
back at the Earth. But the more massive
Suppose an astronaut, such as the body barely feels the tug from you.
twin discussed in Simultaneity and Time Newton's laws assume that gravity is an
Dilation, travels so fast that. innate force of an object that can act over
a distance.
(a) She travels from the Earth to the
nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, Albert Einstein, in his theory of special
4.300 light years (ly) away as measured relativity:
by an Earth-bound observer. How far
apart are the Earth and Alpha Centauri as laws of physics are the same for all
measured by the astronaut? nonaccelerating observers, speed of
(b) In terms of c, what is her velocity light within a vacuum is the same no
relative to the Earth? matter the speed at which an observer
travels
A particle is traveling through Earth’s
atmosphere at a speed of 0.750c. To an As a result, he found that space and
earth-bound observer, the distance it time were interwoven into a single
travels is 2.50 km. continuum known as space-time.

How far does the particle travel as viewed Events that occur at the same time for
from the particle’s reference frame? one observer could occur at different times
for another.
How fast is a moving observer travelling if
the stationary observer measured 1.75km Einstein realized that massive objects
from starting point (A) to end point (B) caused a distortion in space-time. Imagine
while the moving observer measured setting a large object in the center of a
0.98km? trampoline. The object would press down
into the fabric, causing it to dimple. If you
A particle is traveling through the Earth’s then attempt to roll a marble around the
atmosphere at a speed of. To an edge of the trampoline, the marble would
Earth-bound observer, the distance it spiral inward toward the body, pulled in
travels is 2.50 km. How far does the much the same way that the gravity of a
particle travel in the particle’s frame of planet pulls at rocks in space.
reference?