Relativity

In 1905 a young physicist of twenty-six named Albert Einstein showed how measurements of time and space are affected by motion
between an observer and what is being observed. Relativity connects space and time, matter and energy, electricity and magnetism.

Special Relativity

All motion is relative; the speed of light in free space is the same for all observers.

 Free space may refer to: A perfect vacuum, that is, a space free of all matter. In electrical engineering, free space means air
(as opposed to a material, transmission line, fiber-optic cable, etc.): Free-space optical communication is communication by
shining light through air.
 Length, time interval and mass are considered in classical physics. There is no special point made about how they are
measured. For instance, there is no question of principle involved in finding the length of an airplane when we are on
board. All we have to do is put one end of a tape measure at the airplane’s nose and look at the number on the tape at the
airplane’s tail.
 But what if the airplane is in flight and we are on the ground? Is it hard to determine the length of a distant object with a
tape measure?
 To understand how this unexpected difference arises we must analyze the process of measurement when motion is
involved.

Frame of Reference

 Reference frame in Physics is a framework that is used for the observation and mathematical description of physical
phenomena and the formulation of physical laws, usually consisting of an observer, a coordinate system, and a clock or
clocks assigning times at positions with respect to the coordinate system.
 The first step is to clarify what we mean by motion.
 When an object is moving, this means that its position relative to something is changing. For example, a passenger moves
relative to an airplane; the airplane moves relative to the earth; the earth moves relative to the sun; the sun moves relative
to the galaxy of stars (Milky Way) of which it is a member; and so on.
 In each case a frame of reference is part of the description of the motion.
 To say that something is moving always implies a specific frame of reference.
 An inertial frame of reference is one in which Newton’s first law holds. In such a frame, an object remains at rest and an
object in motion continues to move at constant velocity if no force acts on it. Any frame of reference that moves at
constant velocity relative to an inertial frame is itself an inertial frame.
 For example, a bystander outside the vehicle will always be in an inertial frame of reference since he or she is standing still
(i.e. at rest). ... Let's assume the vehicle is moving in a straight line. If the vehicle is not accelerating, the passenger is in an
inertial frame of reference.
 Why is frame of reference important? It might seem strange to use a coordinate system moving relative to the earth — but,
for instance, the frame of reference moving along with a train might be far more convenient for describing things
happening inside the train. Frames of reference are particularly important when describing an object's displacement.
 All inertial frames are equally valid. Suppose we see something changing its position with respect to us at constant velocity.
Is it moving? Suppose we are in a closed laboratory in which Newton’s first law holds. Is the laboratory moving or is it at
rest? These questions are meaningless because all constant-velocity motion is relative. There is no universal frame of
reference that can be used everywhere, no such thing as “absolute motion”.
 The Theory of relativity deals with the consequences of the lack of a universal frame of reference. Special relativity is what
Einstein published in 1905 that involves inertial frames of reference.
 General relativity, published by Einstein a decade later, describes the relationship between gravity and geometrical
structure of space and time. The special theory of relativity has had an enormous impact on much of physics.

Postulates of Special Relativity

Two postulates of special relativity:

1. The principle of relativity states that the laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames of reference.
This postulate follows from the absence of a universal frame of reference. If the laws of physics were different for different
observers in relative motion, the observers could find from these differences which of them “stationary” in space and which
were “moving.” But such distinction does not exist, and the principle of relativity expresses this fact.
2. The second postulate is based on the results of many experiments: the speed of light in free space has the same value in all
frames of reference.

To appreciate how remarkable these postulates are. Let us look at a hypothetical experiment basically no different from actual ones
that have been carried out in a number of ways. Suppose I turn on a searchlight just as you fly past in a spacecraft at a speed of 2 x
10 8 m/s (Fig1.1). We both measure the speed of the light waves from the searchlight using identical instruments. From the ground I
find their speed to be 3 x 10 8 m/s. “Common sense” tells me that you ought to find a speed of (3-2) x 10 8 m/s, or only 1x 10 8 m/s,
even though to me you seem to be moving parallel to the waves at 2 x 10 8 m/s.
Consequences of Special Relativity
Time Dilation - A moving clock ticks more slowly than a clock at rest.
 Measurements of time intervals are affected by relative motion between an observer and what is observed. As a result,
a clock that moves with respect to an observer ticks more slowly than it does without such motion, and all processes
(including those of life) occur more slowly to an observer when they take place in a different inertial frame.
 If someone in a moving spacecraft finds that the time interval between two events in the spacecraft is t o, we on the
ground would find that the same interval has the longer duration t.
 The quantity to which is determined by events that occur at the same place in an observer’s frame of reference, is
called the proper time of the interval between events.
 When witnessed from the ground, the events that mark the beginning and end of the time interval occur at different
places, and in consequence the duration of the interval appears longer than the proper time. This effect is called time
dilation (to dilate is to become larger).

to
t=
v2
√ 1−
c2

where: to = time interval on clock at rest relative to an observer = proper time

t = time interval on clock in motion relative to an observer
v = speed of relative motion
c = speed of light

 t is always smaller than 1 for a moving object, t is always greater than t o. The moving clock in the spacecraft appears to tick
at slower rate than the stationary one on the ground, as seen by an observer on the ground.

Examples:
1. A spacecraft is moving relative to the earth. An observer on the earth finds that between 1 P.M. and 2 P.M. according to her
clock, 3601 s elapse on the spacecraft’s clock. What is the spacecraft’s speed relative to the earth?
2. An observer on a spacecraft moving at 0.700c relative to the earth finds that a car takes 40.0 min to make a trip. How long does
the trip take to the driver of the car?

Doppler Effect - why the universe is believed to be expanding?

We are all familiar with the increase in pitch of a sound when its source approaches us (or we approach the source) and the
decrease in pitch when the source recedes from us (or we recede from the source). These changes in frequency constitute the
Doppler Effect, whose origin is straightforward. For instance, successive waves emitted by a source moving toward an observer are
closer together than normal because of the sound, the corresponding frequency is higher. The relationship between the source
frequency fo and the observer f is

Doppler Effect in sound

v
1+
f =fo
( )
1−
c
V
c

where: c = speed of sound

v = speed of observer (+ for motion toward the source, - for motion away from it)
V = speed of the source (+ for motion toward the observer, - for motion away him)

If the observer is stationary, v = 0, and if the source is stationary, V = 0.

The Doppler Effect in sound varies depending on whether the source, or the observer, or both are moving. This appears to violate
the principle of relativity; all that should count is relative motion of source and observer. But sound waves occur only in a material
medium such as air or water, and this medium is itself a frame of reference with respect to which motions of source and observer
are measurable. Hence there is no contradiction.in the case of light, however, no medium is involved and only relative motion of
source and observer is meaningful. The Doppler Effect in light must therefore differ from that in sound.

Doppler Effect in light by considering a light source as a clock that ticks f o times per second and emits a wave of light with each tick.
1. Observer moving perpendicular to a line between him and the light source. The proper time between ticks is t o = 1/fo, so

v 2 elapses in the reference frame of the observer. The frequency he finds

between one tick and the next the time t=t o /

is accordingly
√ 1−
c2

v2
1
f ( transverse ) = =
t
1− 2

to
√
c

Transverse Doppler Effect in light

2
f =f o 1− v 2
√ c

The observed frequency f is always lower than the source frequency f o.

2. Observer receding from the light source. Now the observer travels the distance vt away from the source between ticks, which
means that the light wave from a given tic takes vt/c longer to reach him than the previous one. Hence the total time between
the arrival of successive waves is

and the observed frequency is

v v

√ √
1− 1−
1 1 c = c
f ( receding )= = fo
T to v v
1+ 1+
c c

The observed frequency f is lower than the source f o. Unlike the case of sound waves, which propagate relative to a material
medium it makes no difference whether the observer is moving away from the source or the source is moving away from the
observer.

The observed frequency f is lower than the source frequency f o. Unlike the case of sound waves, which propagate relative to a
material medium it makes no difference whether the observer is moving away from the source or the source is moving away from
the observer.

3. Observer approaching the light source. The observer here travels the distance vt toward the source between ticks, so each light
wave takes vt/c less time to arrive than the previous one. In this case T = t- vt/c and the result is
v

√
1+
c
f ( approaching )=fo
v
1−
c
The observed frequency is higher than the source frequency. Again, the same formula holds for motion of the source toward the
observer.

√
1+
c
Longitudinal Doppler Effect in light f =f o
v
1−
c

By adopting the convention that v is + for source and observer approaching each other and - for source and observer receding from
each other.

Examples:
1. A driver is caught going through a red light. The driver claims to the judge that the color she actually saw was green (f = 5.6 x 10
14
Hz) because of the Doppler Effect. The judge accepts this explanation and instead fires her speeding at the rate of $1 for each
km/h she exceeded the speed limit of 80 km/h. what was the fine?
2. A spacecraft receding from the earth at 0.97c transmits data at the rate of 1.00 x 10 4 pulse/s. at what rate are they received?
Length Contraction- Faster means shorter
 Measurements of lengths as well as time intervals are affected by relative motion. The length L of an object in motion with
respect to an observer always appears to the observer to be shorter than its length L o when it is at rest with respect to him.
 This contraction occurs only in the direction of the relative motion.
 The length Lo of an object in its rest frame is called its proper length.
 The relativistic shortening of distances is an example of the general contraction of lengths in the direction of motion:
v2
L=Lo 1−
√ c2

Examples:
1. An astronaut whose height on the earth is exactly 6 ft is lying parallel to the axis of a spacecraft moving at 0.9c relative to the
earth. What is his height as measured by an observer in the same spacecraft? By an observer on the earth?
2. An astronaut is standing in a spacecraft parallel its direction of motion. An observer on the earth finds that the spacecraft speed
is 0.6c and the astronaut is 1.3 m tall. What the astronaut’s height is as measured in the spacecraft?

Relativity of Mass - rest mass is least

 The mass of a body moving at the speed v relative to an observer is larger than its mass when at rest relative to the
observer.
 Measured from the earth, a spacecraft in flight is shorter than its twin still on the ground and its mass is greater.
 To somebody on the spacecraft in flight the ship on the ground also appears to be shorter and to have a greater mass.
 Relativistic mass increases are significant only at speeds approaching that of light.
mo
m=
v2
√ 1−
c2

Examples:
1. Find the mass of an electron (9.1 x 10 -31 kg) whose velocity is 0.99c.
2. A man has a mass of 100 kg on the ground, when he is in a spacecraft in flight, his mass is 101 kg as determined by another
observer on the ground. What is the speed of the spacecraft?

Mass and Energy - where E = mc2 comes from

 Total energy m c 2=m o c2 + K
2
 If the body is at rest K = 0, m c 2is interpreted as the total energy E of the body, E o = m o c is the rest energy of a body
whose rest mass is mo.
 If the body is moving, its total energy is
2 mo c 2
E=mc =
v2
√ 1− 2
c

Massless Particle - can exist only if they move with the speed of light.
E=pc

Relativistic Momentum
mo v
p=
v2
√ 1−
c2

Relativistic second law

d d mo v
F=
dt
( mv ) =
dt
(√ ) v2
1− 2
c