Chapter One ‘brements of time and space ate affected by motion between an observer and what is being observed. To say that Einstein’ theory of relativity revolutionized science js no exaggeration. Relativity connects space and time, matter and energy, electricity and magnetism —links that are crucial to our understanding of the physical universe From relativity have come a host of remarkable predictions, all of which have been confirmed by experiment. For al their profundlty, many of the conclusions of relativity ‘ean be reached with only the simplest of mathematics. I 1n 1905 a young physicist of wwenty-six named Albert Einstein showed how meas- 4.1. SPECIAL RELATIVITY {All motion is relative; the speed of light in free space is the same for all observers When such quantities as length, time interval, and mass are considered in elementary physics, no special point is made about how they are measured. Since a standard unit ‘exists for each quantity, who makes a certain determination would not seem to matter— teverybody ought to get the same result. For instance, there is no question of principle involved in finding the length ofan airplane when we are on board. All we have to do is put one end ofa tape measure atthe airplane’ nose and look at the number on the tape at the airplane’ tal ‘But what ifthe airplane isin flight and we are on the ground? It is not hard to de termine the length of a distant object with a tape measure to establish a baseline, a surveyors transit to measure angles, and a knowledge of trigonometry. When we meas~ tue the moving airplane from the ground, though, we find it to be shorter than itis to somebody in the airplane itself. To understand how this unexpected difference arises {we must analyze the process of measurement when motion is involved. Frames of Reference “The frst step isto clarify what we mean by motion. When we say that something 1s moving, what we mean is that its position relative to something else is changing, A passenger moves relative to an airplane; the airplane moves relative to the earth; the arth moves relative tothe sun; the sun moves relative tothe galaxy of stars (the Milly Way) of which i is a member; and so on. n each case a frame of reference is part of the description of the motion. To say that something s moving always implies a specific frame of reference, ‘An inertial frame of reference is one in which Newtons first law of motion holds. tn such a frame, an object at rest remains at rest and an object in motion continues (0 move at constant velocity (constant speed and direction) if no force acts on it. Any frame of reference that moves at constant velocity telative to an inertial frame is itself an inertial frame. ‘All inertial frames are equally valid. Suppose we see something changing (ts posi- tion with respect to us at constant velocity. Is it moving or are we moving? Suppose ive are in a closed laboratory in which Newton’ first law holds. Is the laboratory moy ingoor st at rest These questions are mneaningless because all constant-velcity mation ie relative. There is no universal fame of reference that car be used everywhere, no stich thing as “absolute motion.” sa The tneory of relativity deals with the consequences of the lck of a universal frame Of reference. Special relativity, which is what Einstein published in 1905, treatsRelauvity problems that involve inertial frames of reference. General relativity, published by Einstein a decade later; describes the relationship between gravity and the geometricel structure of space and time. The special theory has had an enormous impact on much ‘of physics, and we shall concentrate on it here, Postulates of Special Relativity ‘Two postulates underlie special relativity: The first, the principle of rela ty, sates: | 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. Ifthe laws of physics were different for different observers in relative motion, the observers could find from these differences which of them were “stationary” in space and which were “moving,” But such a distinction does not exist, and the principe of relativity expresses this fact The second postulate is based on the results of many experiments ‘The speed of light in free space has the same value in all inertial frames of reference, This speed is 2.998 X 10° m/s to four significant figutes. ‘To appreciate how remarkable these postulates are, let us look at a hypothetical experiinent basicaly no different from actual ones thet have been cartied out in a number df ways. Suppose ! urn on a searchlight just as you fly past in a spacecralt sta speed of 2 x 10° m/s (Fig, 1.1). We both measure the speed ofthe light waves fom the searchlight using identical instruments. From the ground | find theie speed to be 3 X 10° m/s as usual. “Common sense” tells me that you ought to find a speed of G = 2) X 10° mvs, or only 1 10° mvs, for the same light waves. But you also find their speed to be 3 X 10° nv/s, even though to me you seem to be moving parallel to the waves at 2 10° ms 9 | AS etme i axiotws f o © Figure 1.1 The speed of ight isthe same to all observers.4 Chapter One Albert A. Michelson (1852-1931) ‘was born in Germany but came to the ‘United States atthe age of two with his parents, who setled in Nevada. He tended the US. Naval Academy at re, aler two yeas of Sea duty, Ife became a svence wsirucor To Improve his knowledge of optics, in'which he wanted 10 specialize, Michelson went to Europe and stud ted in Bevin and Paris. Then be lef the Navy to wotk frst atthe Case School of Applied Science in Chuo, then at Clak University in Massachsets, and Binaly at te University of Chicago, where he headed the physics de- partment fom 1892 t9 1929. Michelson’ specialty was high precision measurement, nd for many decades his successive figures forthe sped of light were the best valle. He rede- fined the meter in terms of wavelengihs ofa panicolar spectral line and devised en interferometer that edd determine the diameter of stat (tars ‘appear as points of ight in even the most poweel telescopes) Michelson’ most significant achievement, carried out in 1887 in collaboration with Edward Morley, was an experiment to measure the motion of the earth though the “ether,” aby potheial medium pervading the universe n which ight waves Were supposed to cur. The notion ofthe ether was a hange ver fromthe days before light waves were recoguied as elec tromagnetic, bt nobody a the ume seemed willing (o discard the iden that ight propagates relative to some sor of universal frame of ference Parallel ight gigi ‘om single source (RU 0SSN Half svered mitror Figure 1.2 The Michelson-Morley experiment “To look forthe earths motion through the ether, Michelson and Morley used a par of light beams formed by a half-slvered mirror, as in Fig. 1.2. One light bear is directed to & mirror along a path perpendicular tothe ether curren, and the other foes to a mirror along a path parallel co the ether current. Both Beans ed up atthe same viewing screen. The clear glass plate cures chat both bealas pass dough the samme thicknesses air and glass. I the transit times of the two beams are the same, they wall arrive atthe screen in phase and wall interfere con- siructively. An ether current due to the earth’ rotion parallel to one ofthe beams, however, would cause the beams to have aiferent transit anes and the result would be destructive in terference atthe screen. Tis isthe essence of the experiment. “Although the experimen was sensitive enough to detect the expected ether drift, to everyone’ surprise none was found. “The negative result had two consequences. First, it showed that the ether does not exst and so there is no such thing as “ab- ‘solute motion” relative to the ether: all motion is relative to a specified frame of reference, not to a universal one. Second, the result showed that the speed of light is the same for all ob servers, which s not rue of waves that need a material medium fn which to occur auch as sound and water waves). “The Michelzon-Morley experiment se the stage for Einstein 1905 special theory of relativity, a theory that Michelson him self was reluctant to accept Indeed, not long before the flow cing of relativity and quantum theory revolutionized physics, ‘Michelson announced that “physical discoveries in the future fare a matter ofthe sith decimal place" This was a common opinion ofthe time, Michelson received a Nobel Prize in 1907, the frst American to do so. Mirror A Glass plate _¥ Hypothetical ether cureentRelativity ‘There is only one way to account for these results without violating the principle of relativity. It must be true that measurements of space and time are not absolute bat de pend on the relative motion between an observer and what is being observed. If were to measure from the ground the rate at which your clock ticks and the length of your meter stick, I would find that the clock ticks more slowly than it did at rest on the ground and that the meter stick is shorter in the direction of inotion of the spacecraft. To you, your clock and meter stick are the same as they were on the ground before you took off. ‘To me they are diffrent because ofthe relative motion, different in such a way that the speed of light you measure isthe same 3 X 108 m/s I measure. Time intervals and lengths are relative quantities, but the speed of ight in free space isthe same to all observers. Before Einstein’ work, a conflict had existed between the principles of mechanics, Which were then based on Newton’ laws of motion, and those of electricity and ‘magnetism, which had been developed into a unified theory by Maxwell. Newtonian mechanics had worked wel for over two centuries. Maxwell theory not only covered all that was then known about electric and magnetic phenomena but had also pre- dicted that electromagnetic waves exist and identified light as an example of them, However, the equations of Newtonlan mechanics and those of electromagnetism differ in the way they relate measurements made in one inertial frame with those made in a diferent inertial frame. Einstein showed that Maxwell theory is consistent with spectal relativity whereas Newtonian mechanics is not, and his modification of mechanics brought these branches, of physics into accord. As we will find, relativistic and Newtonian mechanics agree for relative speeds much lower than the speed of light, which is why Newtonian mechanies seemed correct for so,long, At higher speeds Newtonian mechanics fails and must be replaced by the relativistic version. 1.2. 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 wlien they take place in a dilferent inertia frame. someone in a moving spacecraft finds that the time interval between two events in the spacecraft isto, we on the ground would find that the same interval has the longer duration t, The quantity fo, which is determined by events that occur atthe same ‘place in an observer’ frame of reference, is called the proper time of the interval between the events. When witnessed from the ground, the events that mark the be ginning 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 (Co dilate i to become lager). ‘To see how time dilation comes about, let us consider two clocks, both of the par. ticularly simple kind shown in Fig. 1.3. In each clock a pulse of light is reflected back and forth between two mirrors Lo apart. Whenever the light strikes the lower mior, an electric signal is produced that marks the recording tape, Each mark corresponds to the tick of an ordinary clock One clock is at rest in laboratory on the ground andl the other isin a spacecraft that moves atthe speed v relative tothe ground. An observer in the laboratory watches both clocks: does she find that they tick at the same rate?6 Chapter One Mirror Recording device Photosensitive surface Figure 1.3 slraple lock. Each rmirot to the upper oe and back. ick" corresponds to a ound trp ofthe ight pulse fom the lower ° Figuee 14 shows the laboratory clock in operation. The time interval between ticks ‘ fs the proper time to and the time needed for the light pulse to travel between the 2 mirrors at the speed of light cis fo/2. Hence to/2 = Lo/c and t =[ ee be He aa) i Figure 1.5 shows the moving clock with its mirrors perpendicular to the direction of motion relative tothe ground. The time interval between ticks i ¢. Because the clock. {s moving, the light pulse, as seen from the ground, follows a zigrag path. On its way from the lower mirror to the upper one in the time ¢/2, the pulse travels a horizontal distance of u(¢/2) and a total distance of c(t/2). Since Lois the vertical distance between the mirrors, oa Co aman ay ut\? 2V + (S ra ia (s)-#+(3) rest on the ground as seen by an server on the ground, The dal ‘represents conventional lock on the ground. 2-vew pe fh Ot e-v Cave) Hole “Tae a2 : But 2Lo/c ts the time interval tj between ticks on the clock on the ground, as in Eq. (1.1), and soRelativity 1 © @ Se ae pp Figure 1.5 A ight-pute clock in a spacecraft as een by an cbserver on the ground, The mitrors are parallel to the diection of motion of the spaecralt, The dal represents «conventional clack on the ‘round. Time dilation aa) Here is a reminder of what the symbols in Eq, (1.4) represent: fo = time interval on clock at rest relative to an observer = proper time { = time interval on clock in motion relative to an observer v= speed of relative motion = speed of light Because the quantity V1 ~ v'/- is always smaller than 1 for a moving object, ts slways greater than fo. The moving clock in the spacecraft appears to tick at a slower rate than the stationary one on the ground, as seen by an observer on the ground, Exactly the same analysis holds for measurements of the clock on the ground by the pilot of the spacecraft. To him, the light pulse of the ground clock follows a zigzag path that requires a total tlme ¢ per round trip. His owm clock, at rest in the spacecraft, {ics at intervals of fp. He too finds that vie 40 the ellect is reciprocal: every observer finds that clocks in motion relative to him tick more slowly than clocks at rest relative to him, ‘Our discussion has been based on a somewhat unusual clock. Do the same conclusions apply to ordinary clocks that use machinery—spring-controlled escapements, tuning forks, vibrating quartz crystals, or whatever—to produce ticks at constant time intervals? "The answer must be yes, since if a mirror clock and a conventional clock in the space- craft agree with each other on the ground but not when in Qight, the disagreement between then could be used to find the speed of the spacecraft independently of any outside frame of reerence—which contradicts the principle that all motion is relative.Chapter One. & The Ultimate Speed Limit 4 he earth and the other planets ofthe solr system stem to be natural products ofthe evoki- tion ofthe sun. Since the su sa rater ondiay tar in ther ways, isnot suprising that cater stars have been found to have planetary systems around them as wel life developed ere ‘on earth, and there Is no known reason why it should not also have done soon some ofthese Planets. Can we expect ever tobe able to wit them and meet out fellow citizens ofthe universe? The rouble thax heal al sar are ver far avay—thousands o lions of gh yeas away. (A ligheyear the distance ligt travel in a year, i 9.46 % 10! ma) Bac if we can build a spacecrat ‘whoa speed i thousands or rains of ies greater than the speed of Uiht c, such distances ‘would not bean obstacle “Aas, a simple argument based on Elsteink postulates shows that nothing cas move faster thane Suppose you ae in a spacecraft traveling ata constant speed vrelaive to the earth that fs pear than ¢ As L watch from the earth, the lamps in che spacecraft suddenly go out. You Ech on a fasiigh to find the fase Bora the feout ofthe spacecraft and change the blown, fuse (ig 1.60). The lamps go on again ‘rom the ground, though, { would see something qute dlifefent, To me, since your sped fs greater than the light rom your Hash uminats the back ofthe spacera (Fg. 1.6) Team only conclade that the laws of pss are diflerent in your ines rare rom what they te in my inerial frame —which contradiets the principle of relativiy. The ony way to avoid this eontadiction isto assume that nothing can move faster than the speed cf ght This as ‘sumption hasbeen tested experimentally many times and has always been fou! wo be correct The sce of ight cn elatvy i always ts vale in fe space of 3.00 X 10". all terial media, such es ait, water, or ls, light travels more slowly than this, and atomie partes freable to move astern such media than des light. When an elecricaly charged pace moves through a transparent substance aa speed exceeding tha flight in the substance, a cone of light svaves semi tha conesponds to the bow wave produced bya ship moving through the water Tener than water waves do. These ight waves ate known as Cerenkor radiation and forthe basis ofa method of determining the speds of sich particles. The minimum speed a pale st have to emit Cerenkoy radiation is c/n i. a medium whose index of refraction isn. Cee ra dation is visible asa bhish glow when an intense beam of paces is ivolved ra @ © Figure 1.6 A pecson switches oma fahlight in a spacecrat assumed to be moving relative tothe earth farer than High, (2) the spacecralt fare, the light goes tothe font of the spacecraft 2) In. the ant fame, the light goes o the back ofthe spaceerak. Because observers in the spacecrat and feeanth would see difecieevents, the principle of relativity would be violated. The conclston is thatthe spacecraft cannot be moving fete than light relative to the earth (or relative to anything eb).Relativit 9 Albert Einstein (1879-1955), biterly ‘unhappy with the rigid discipline of the schools of his nauve Germany, went at sbaeen 1 Switzerland to com plete his education, and late gota job ‘examining patent applications atthe ‘Swiss Patent Office. Then, in 1905, Ideas that had been germinating In his mind for years wher he sinould have ‘been paying atention to other matters (one of his math teachers called Einstein a “lazy dog”) blossomed into three stort papers that were to change decisively the course not only of physics but of moder civilization as wel. “The frst paper, on the photoelectric effect, propose that ight ‘has a dual character with both parle and wave properties, The subject ofthe second paper was Brownian motion, the tregular zigzag movement of tiny bts of suspended mate, such as pollen grains in water. Einstein showed that Browmian motion results fora the bombardment ofthe pacles by randomly moving mol- ‘he Mud in which they ave spend This provided tong awaited definite link sith expertment that convinced the remaining doubters ofthe molecular theory of matter, The third paper introduced the special theory of relativiy Althqugh much of the world of physics was originally etter indiferent or skeptical, even the most unexpected of Einsteins conclusions were soon confirmed andthe development of what is now called modem physics began in eames. After universyy post in Switzerland and Ceechoslovaia, in 1913 he took up an aes rer appointment atthe Kaiser Wilhelm Insttate in Berlin that et him able to do research free of financial wories and routine duties, Einstein interest was now mainly in graviauon, and he started ‘where Newton had let off mote than two centuries eal. Einstein’ general theory of relativity, published in 1916, re- lated gravity to the structure of space and ttm. In this theory the force of gravity can be thought of as aising (roma warp {ng of spacetime around a body of matter so that a nearby mass tends to move tbward it, much asa marble rolls toward the bot tom of a saucershaped hole. From general relativity came a ‘numberof femarkable predictions, such as that light should be subject to gravity, all of which were verified experimentally The Tater discovery thatthe universe is expanding fit neatly into the theory In 1917 Einstein introduced the idea of simulated emis sion of radiation, an idea that bore fut forty yeas later in the Invention ofthe laser. ‘The development of quantum mechanics inthe 1920s dis- trbed Finstein, who never accepted its probabiliste rather than deterministic vew of events on an atomic scale. God does not play dice withthe world,” he sad, bu fr once his physieal i tuiton seemed toe leading hie inthe wiong sheen Einsteta, by now 2 would celebrity, kell Germany in 1933 a: ter Hitler came to power and spent the rest of his life a the in stitute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, thereby ‘escaping the fate of millions of other European Jews at the hands of the Germans. His last years were spent in an unsuccessful search for a theory that would bring gravitation and electro magnetism together into a single picture, a problem worthy of his gifts but one that remains unsolved to this day. ee Example 1.4 ‘A spacecraft is moving relative tothe earth, An observer on the earth finds that, between La and 2 vat. according to her clock, 3601 s elapse on the spacecraft clock, What isthe space rats speed relative to the earth? Solution Here fg = 3600 s is the proper time interval on the earth and ¢ = 3601 $ is the time interval in the moving frame as measured from the earth, We proceed as follows: = 711X108 ms ‘Todays spacecraft are much slower than this, For instance, the highest speed of the Apollo L) space- craft that went to the moon was only 10,840 nus, and its clocks difered from those on the earth by less thar one part in 10%, Most of the experiments tat have confined time dilation made use of unstable nucle and elementary patces which ready tain speeds not far from that of ight.chapter Os Apollo 11 ls of ts pad to begin the ist burman tit othe moon. AL is highest speed of 108 kes . feltve othe cath its locks difered fom those on the eath by less than one part ina Billo, Although time is « relative quantity, not all the notions of time formed by every: day experience are incorrect. Time does not run backward to any observer, for in stance. A sequence of events that occur at some particular polnt at ty, ft. -- «will appear in the same order to all observers everywhere, though not necessarily with the samme time intervals f — f, &) ~ &,-.. between each pale of events. Similarly, no distant observer, regardless of his of her state of motion, can see an event before it happens—mote precisely, before a nearby observer sees ii—since the speed of light is finite and signals require the minimum period of time L/c to travel a distance L. There is no way to peer into the future, though past events may appear different to different observers. 1.3 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 tus (or we recede from the soutce), These changes in frequency constitute the doppler effect, whose origin is straightforward, For instance, successive waves emitted by & source moving toward an observer are closer together than normal because of the fadvance of the source; because the separation of the waves is the wavelength of the sound, the corresponding frequency is higher. The relationship between the source frequency vp and the observed frequency v isRelativity Doppler effect in sound aa where speed of sound v= speed of observer (+ for motion toward the source, — for motion away fiom i) V = speed of the source (+ for motion toward the observer, ~ for motion away from him) the observer Is stationary, v = 0, and if the source is stationary, V = 0. ‘The doppler lectin sound varies depending on whether the source, or the observer, or both ate moving, This appears to violate the principle of relativity: all that should count is the 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 rho contradiction, Inthe case of light, however, no medium is involved and only rela- tive motion of source and observer is meaningful. The doppler effect in light must therefore fer from that in sound. We can analyze the doppler effect tn light by considering a light source as a clock. that ticks vo times per second and emits a wave of light with each tick. We will examine the three situations shown in Fig, 1.7 1 Observer moving perpendicular to a line between him and the light source. The proper me bet 1s f= I/vo, so between one tick and the next the time fo/V/1 ~ u'/e elapses in the reference frame of the observer. The frequency he finds is accordingly vtuaneess) = 2 = VIVE : % Transverse doppler effet vewVi- ve as in light The observed frequency » is always lower than the source frequency ¥ 2 Observer receding from the light source. Now the observer travels the distance vt away from the source between ticks, which means that the ight wave from a given tick takes cone ‘i C3 (fee: raanaannees Figue 1.7 The frequency ofthe light seen by an observer depends on the direction and speed ofthe ‘observers mation relative tots source 1112 Chapter One ci _ vvi/c longer to reach him than the previous one, Hence the total time between the arrival of successive waves is at 5) widicvlen aioe Tale tHe ee Sate 121) fs five dealt WERE a The observed frequency v is lower than the source frequency vo, 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 ight source: The observer here travels the distance vt toward the source between ticks, so each light wave takes vt/c le& time to arrive than the previous one. In this case T == ¢ ~ vtfe and the result is appencing = 0 f EE an Spectra ofthe double star Mizar, which consis of two stats that circle their center of mass, taken Jays apart. In the stars are inline with no motion toward oF away from the earth, so thelr pect lines are superimposed, In b one star is moving toward the earth and the other is mow Ing away ftom the earth 40 the spectel lines ofthe former are doppler-sited toward he blue tnd ofthe spectrum and those ofthe later are shite toward the red end. The observed frequency is higher than the source frequency. Again, the same formula hholds for motion of the source toward the observer, Equations (1.6) and (1.7) can be combined in the single formula Longitudinal __ doppler effect ° iE ¥ vie a in light vie by adopting the convertion that vis + for source and observer approaching each other and ~ for source and observer receding from each other.Relativity Example 1.2 A diver is caught going through a red light. The driver claims to the judge thatthe color she actually saw was green (» = 5.60 X 10! Hz) and not ted (vp = 4.80 X 10" Hz) because of the doppler ellect. The judge accepts this explanation and instead fines her for speeding at the rate of $1 for each kan/h she exceeded the speed limit of 80 kra/h, What was the fine? Solution Solving Eq. (1.8) for v gives = 222) «ame maf (5.60) = #0 Pe (60 + 480" = 4.59 X 10? m/s = 1.65 X 10" km/h since 1 m/s = 3.6 kan/h, The fine ts therefore $(1.65 x 10 ~ 80) = $164,999,920. ere Visible light consists of electromagnetic waves in a frequency band to which the eye 's sensitive, Other electromagnetic waves, such as those used in radar and in radio communications also exhibit the doppler effect in accord with Eq. (1.8). Doppler shits in radar waves ae used by police to measure vehicle speeds, and doppler shifts in the radio waves emitted by a set of earth satellites formed the basis ofthe highly accurate “Transit system of marine navigation. The Expanding Universe The doppler effect in light is an important‘tool in astronomy. Stars emit light of cer: tain characteristic frequencies called spectral lines, and motion of a star toward or away from the earth shows up as a doppler shift in these frequencies, The spectral lines of distant galaxies of stars are all shifted toward the low-frequency (red) end of the spectrum and hence are called “red shifts.” Such shifts indicate thatthe galaxies are re ceding from us and from one another. The speeds of recession are observed to be Edwin Hubble (1889- At Mt. Wilson Observatory in California, Hubble made 1953) was bor in Missouri the frst accurate measurements of the distances of spial and, although always inter- galaxies which showed that they ate far away in space from ested in astronomy, pursued our own Milky Way galaxy. It had been known for some time a variety of other subjects that such galaxles have red shifs in thelr spectra that in a5 well a the Univers of cate motion away from the Milky Way, and Hubble joined his ‘Chicago. He then went as a distance figures with the observed ced shifis to conclude that Rhodes Scholar to Oxford the recession speeds were proportional to distance, This im- University tn England where plies that the universe is expanding, a remarkable discovery he concentrated on law, that has led to the modern picture of the universe, Hubble Spanish, and heavyweight was the firs to use the 200-inch telescope, for many years boxing. Alter two yeats of the world’ largest, at Mt, Palomar in California, in 1949. In teaching at an tadiana high his later work Hubble tried to determine the stracture of the school, Hubble realized universe by finding how the concentration of remote galax what his true vocation was ies varles with distance, a very difficult task that only today and returned to the University of Chicago to study astronomy. is being accomplished.14 Chapter One 8x10! ° , 2 8 4x10 Approximate distance, light-years @ ® Fgute 1.8 (@) Graph of recession speed verus distance for distant galaxies. The speed of recession averages about 21 lands pet milion ight years. (9) Two-dimensional analogy ofthe expanding wr ‘rise As the balloon 4 inflated, the spots on ie Become father apart, A bug on the blloon would Find that the father away @ spot Is from its location, the faster the spot seins to be moving away: this s true no matter where dhe bug is. in the case of the universe the more distant a galaxy Is for tus the faster iis moving avy, which means tha the universe is expanding uniformly proportional to distance, which suggests that the entire universe is expanding (Fig. 1.8). ‘This proportionality is called Hubble’ law. ‘The expansion apparently began about 13 billion years ago when a very small, in- tensely hot mass of primeval matter exploded, an event usualy called the Big Bang. As described in Chap. 13, the matter soon turned into the electrons, protons, and neu. trons of which the present universe is composed. Individual aggregates that formed during the expansion became the galaxies of today, Present data suggest that the current expansion will continue forever ————————— Example 1.3 {A distant galaxy in the constellation Hydra is receding from the earth at 6.12 X 10” m/s. By hhow much is a green spectral line of wavelength 300 am (1 nm = 10° m) emitted by this sgalany shifted toward the red end ofthe spectrum?Relativity Solution Since A= c/v and Ag = c/v from Eq, (1.6) we have wens aE Here v 0.204¢ and Ag = 500 am, 30 sia The dafeisA Ay = 16 ran Thisgalany is believed en ee Ne 1.4 LENGTH CONTRACTION Faster means shorter Measurements of lengths as well as of time intervals ate 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 Lo when it i at rest with respect to him. This contraction occurs only in the direction of the relative motion. The length Lp of an object in its rest frame is called lts proper length. (We note that in Fig. 1.5 the clock. 4s moving perpendicular to v, hence L = Lo there) The length contraction can be derived in a number of ways. Pethaps the simplest {is based on time dilation and the principle of relativity. Let us consider what happens to unstable particles called muons that are created at high altitudes by fat costnic-ray Particles largely protons) from space when they collide with atomic nuclei in the earths ‘atmosphere. A muon has a mass 207 times that of the electron and has a charge of either +e or —¢; it decays into an electron or a positron after an average lifetime of 2.2 ps (2.2 X 10°%s), Cosmic-ray muons have speeds of about 2.994 X 10° m/s (0.998) and reach sea level in profusion—one of theqn passes through each square centimeter of the earths surface on the average slightly more often than once a minute. But in to = 2.2 ps, thelr average lifetime, muons can travel a distance of only Vtg * (2.994 X 10" m/s)(2.2 107s) = 6.6 X 10” m = 0.66 km before decaying, whereas they are actually created at altitudes of 6 kan or more. To resolve the paradox, we note that the muon lifetime of fg = 2.2 us is what an observer at rest with respect to a muon would find. Because the muons are huetling toward us at the considerable speed of 0.998c, ther lifetimes are extended in our frame of reference by time dilation to 22x 10°¢s A 6 ss + = 108 x 10s = 348 Vi-v¥e = V1 = 0.99807 e The moving muons have lifetimes alriost 16 times longer than those at rest, In atime interval of 34:8 1s, a muon whose speed is 0.998c can cover the distance vt = (2.994 X 10° m/5)(34.8 X 10-® s) = 1,04 X 10m = 10.4 km sai 15ih ‘Asfound by observer As found by an observer ‘onthe ground, the roving with the muon, the muon aldtude's ground is L below i, whichis {shorter distance than Ly Figure 1.9 Muon decay as seem by diferen observes. ‘The muon sizes geal exaggerate here; in ft, the moo seers ely to bea pnt particle with no extension in space. “Although its lifetime Is only tp = 2.2 ps in its own frame of reference, a muon can reach the ground from altitudes of as much as 10.4 km because tn the frame in which these altitudes are measured, the muon lifetime is ¢ = 34.8 ws. ‘What if somebody were to accompany a muon in its descent at v = 0.998c, so that to him or her the muon is at rest? The observer and the muon are now in the same frame of relerence, and inthis frame the muons lifetime is only 2.2 so the observer, the muon can travel only 0.66 km before decaying, The only way to account for the arrival of the muon at ground level is ifthe distance it travels, from the point of view of an observer in the moving frame, is shortened by virtue of its motion (Fig, 1.9). The principle of relativity tells us the extent of the shortening—It must be by the same factor of Vi — v2 that the muon lifetime is extended from the point of view of a stationary observer. ‘We thevefoe conclude that an altitude we on the ground find to be hy must appear in the muon’ frame of reference asthe lower altitude [ bebo Vi- oye | {Od In our frame of reference the muon can travel h = 10.4 km because of time dilation. In the muon’ frame of reference, where there is no time dilation, this distance is, abbreviated toFigure 1.0 Relaivistic length contraction. Only lengths inthe direction of motion ae affected. the horizontal scale i legate f= 04 km) V1 = (0,9980/2? = 0.66 km AAs we know, a muon traveling at 0,998¢ goes this far in 2.2 ps. The relativistic shortening of distances is an example of the general contraction of lengths in the direction of motion: Le ‘contraction Figure 1.10 is @ graph of L/lg versus u/c. Clearly the length contraction is most signiflcant at speeds near that of light. A speed of 1000 kas seems fast to us, but it poly results in a shortening in te direction of motion to 99,9994 percent ofthe proper length of an objtct moving at this speed. On the other hand, something taveling at nine-tenths the speed of light is shortened to 44 percent of its proper lengih significant change, Like time dilation, die length contraction is a reciprocal effect, To a person in a spacecraft, objects on the earth appear shorter than they did when he or she was on the ground by the same factor of V1 ~ v?/2 that the spacecraft appears shorter to somebody at rest. The proper length Lo found inthe rest frame isthe maxnnum length, any observer will measure. As mentioned earlier, only lengths inthe direction of motion undergo contraction. Thus to an outside observer a spacecratis shorter in fight than on the ground, but it is not narrower. as) 1.5 TWIN PARADOX A longer life, but tt will not seem longer ‘We are now in a position to understand the famous relativistic effect known as the twin paradox. This paradox involves two identical elacks, one of which remains on the earth while the other is taken on a voyage into space at-the speed v and event. ally is brought back, Itis customary to replace the clocks with the pair of ewins Dick and18 pter 01 Jane, a substitution that is perfectly acceptable because the processes of life—heartbeats, respiration, and so on—constitute blological clocks of reasonable regularity. Dick fs 20 y old when he takes off on a space voyage at a speed of 0,80c to a star 20 light-years away. To Jane, who stays behind, the pace of Dicks life is slower than hers by a factor of Vine = Vi= aa TE = 0.60 = 60% ‘To Jane, Dick’ heart beats only 3 times for every 5 beats of her heart; Dick takes only 3 breaths for every 5 of hers; Dick thinks only 3 thoughts for every 5 of hers. Finally Dick returns after 50 years have gone by according to Jane’s calendar, but to Dick the trip has taken only 30 y, Dick is therefore 50 y old whereas Jane, the twin who stayed hhome, is 70 y old (Pig. 1.11). ‘Where is the paradox? If we consider the situation from the point of view"of Dick {in the spacecraft, Jane on the earth is in motion relative to him at a speed of 0.80. Should not Jane then be 50 y old when the spacecraft returns, while Dick is then 7T0—the precise opposite of what was concluded above? But the two situations are not equivalent, Dick changed from one inertial frame to 4 different one when he started out, when he reversed direction to head home, and ‘when he landed on the earth, Jane, however, remained in the same inertial frame dur- ing Dicks whole voyage. The time dation formula applies to Jane's observations of Dick, but not to Dick’ observations of het “To look at Dick’ voyage from his perspective, we must take into account that the distance L he covers is shortened to L= Lp Vi = v¥V2 = (20 light-years) ‘V1 — (0:8007/2 = 12 light-years To Dick, time goes by at the usual rate, but is voyage to the star has taken L/v = 15 y and his return voyage another 15 y, for a total of 30 y. Of course, Dick’ life span has Figure 111 An astronaut who retuens (rom a space voyage wil be younger than his or he ewin who remains on earth, Speeds close to the speed of light (bere v= 0.8) ae needed for this elect to be conspicwous, Q A | Kd Kj ie X bd i i kX] x) kX} kX kX kK be RY kX i by bbRelat not been extended to him, because regardless of Jane’ 50-y wait, he has spent only 30 y on the roundip ‘The monsyvnetsic aging of the twins has been verified by experiments in which accurate clocks were taken on an airplane trip around the world and then compared with identical clocks that had been left behind. An observer who departs from an in etil system and then returns after moving relative to that system will always find his or her clocks slow compared with clocks that stayed in the system. Example 1.4 Dick and Jane each send out a radio signal once a year while Dick is away. How many signals does Dick receive? How many does Jane receive? Solution (On the outward trip, Dick and Jane are being separated ata rate of 0.80c. With the help of the reasoning used to analyze the doppler ellect In Sec. 1.3, we find that each twin receives signals 10a Vi ops OY pan On the return trp, Dick and Jane ae petting closer together atthe same rate, and each receives signals more frequently navely - ve T= 0.80, RON Tye “OP VF 080 Tak Lave Tt spa To Dick, the trip to the star takes 15 y, and he receives 15/3 = 5 signals from Jane, During the 15 y of the return trip, Dick receives 15/(1/3) = 45 signals from Jane, for a total of 50 sig- nals. Dick therefore conlades that ane has age by 50 yin is auence’ Bae Dick a ce dqpe that Janes 70y ol atthe end ef the voyage To Jane, Dick needs f/e= 25 y forthe outa tp. Because the sa ls 20 ight yeats ny. Jane onthe eat contest receive Dick signals athe orignal tof one every 39 for a0 f afer Dick as atved atthe ar lence Jnetecevs signals every 3 fr Py #209 = 43 to ive a tol of 45/3 = 15 sigals (These ae the 13 sale Dk Sent ton the outa ip) Then, othe remating3y of what so Jane a 30+ voyage, sils amie fos Dick the shorter intervals of 1/3 y for an additional 5/(1/3) = 15 signals. Jane thus receives 30 sig: alsin all and conlaes that ik has aged by 30 during he me he was aay—atich apes ‘wth Dek own igure Dick ended 20 y younger ha his win Jane on ae ee 1.6 ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM | Reavis bige \ ‘One of the puzzles that set Einstein on the trail of special relativity was the connec tion between electricity and magnetism, and the ability of his theory to clarify the na-( {eof this connection is one ofits triumphs. Because the moving charges (usually electrons) whose interactions give rise to many of the magnetic forces familiar to us have speeds far smaller than ¢, it 1s not obvious | that the operation of an electric motor, say, is based on a relativistic effect, The idea becomes less implausible, however, when we reflect on the strength of electric forces, The electric atraction between the electron and proton in a hydrogen atom, for instance, | fo de Ds drs 19 a re Ae My Mubat dade 8 wibhar 9 Podge de pour la Wa) aywe te why De top ay 2 (hoy lay dude ollie, us iat clan lv)! Omi) od Ne del ey Oro NS tf El as ee © VES mera, ny : 2, ¥ [_ Wok dade rl youl ew OPres raed fr a, +0 é a wv vu ah ) , T7 7 1 5) Uoly ober uk ey (j= he di nu Ou 2 7 ae =o TTS | (FF fost bas > dabide) Oe (a) _ jo % 08 al 1 je eet ot ae J 2 ( ww a UN - al ste ue «m0 hr moe © evr Woe, a tog ome ee bipat c) Vite de du von)20 Chapter One 4 10” times greater than the gravitational attraction between them. Thus even sal Change inthe character of these forces due to relative motion, which is what magnetic forces represent, may have large consequences. Furthermore, although the efecive speed of an tndvidut electron in a cuencarryng wire (<1 mm/s) i less than that ‘ofa teed caterpillar, there may be 10" or more moving electrons per centimeter in such a wite, 50 the total effect ay be considerable ‘Although the fll tory of how eaivity links electricity and magnetism is mathe matically comple, some aspects of i are easy to appreciae. An example i the origin ofthe magnetic force between two parallel curens. An important point is tht, like the speed of light, edt ____ Y mewn cage was i) “K charge whose magnitude is found wo be Q in one frame of reference i also Q in all other frames. et us look tthe two idealized conductors shown in Fig, 1-12 The contain equal ‘numbers of positive and negative charges at res that are equally spaced. Because the conductors ae electrically neutral, there is no fore between them. Figure Lzb shows the same condsctors when they cary curens jan fy tn the same direction, The postive charges move tothe right andthe negative charges move to the left, both atthe sime speed vas seen from the laboratory frame of reference. (Actual Currents in metals consist of lows of negative electrons only, ofcourse, but the elect tally equivalent model here is easer to mulyze and the results are the ste) Beause the charges are moving, their spacing i smaller than before bythe factor V1 = vie. Since vis the saoe for both ses of charges, thelr spacings shrink by the same amounts, and both conductors remain neural to an observer in the laboratory. However, the con- Guctors now attct each other. Why? Tet us look at conductor Ml fom the frame of reference of one of the negative ‘charges tn conductor I. Because the negative charges in Tl appeat at rest n this frame, their spacing isnot contracted, asin Fig 1.12c. On the other hand, the postive charges inl now have the velocity 2, and thei spacing is accordingly contracted toa greater fextent than they aze inthe laboratory frame, Conductor It therefore appears to have {Tet postive charge. and an attractive force acts on the negative charge in. Next we look at conductor II from the fame of reference of one of the postive charges in conductor L. The poskive charges in I ae now at rest, and the negative Charges there move tothe left atthe speed 2u. Hence the negative charges are closer together than the positive ones, sn Fig. 1.124, andthe entre conductor appears neg- tively charged. An attractive force therfore acts onthe postive charges i enti! arguments show that the negative and postive charges in Tt are attracted to Thus all the charges in each conductor expesence forces directed toward the other ‘onduetor. To each charge, the force oni is an “ordinary” electric force that arises be- Cause the charges of opposite sign Inthe other conductor are closer together than the charges ofthe same sig, so the other conductor appears to ave a net charge. From the laboratory frame the situation Is less straightforward. Both conductors are cdectlealy netral inthis frame, and itis natural to explain their mutual aracton by sxerbuting tt a specal “magnet” nceraction between the currents. similar analysis explains the repulsive fore between parallel conductors that carry currents in opposite directions. Athough is convenient to think of magnetic forces Ss being diferent fom elect ones, they both result from a singe electromagnetic fa teraction that occurs between charged particles. Clearly a currenearying conductor that Selecta neutral in one frame of reference might not be neutral in another frame, How can this observation be resonelled@ u Foren mean cage @ u ° 3 9, ° aoe o «fe 2 oe oe 9 Foceon pantie cage @ u o o 3, o o Ze Oe 7 go OM Figure 1.12 How the magnetic atracton between parallel currents aes.) Ieaied parallel con- uctors tha contin esl numbers of postive and agave charges () When the consis cy utente spacing of thelr moving charges undergoes atti contractions seen fom te cxmry the conductors trac eachother when sod ya Inthe some diection. (©) As een by ¢ ‘gue charg in the negative charges in It area rest wheres the pov charge em motion ‘he contracted spacing ofthe liter leads toa net pesive charge in Il tat tacts Re negeve charge in (As seen by a postive charges in 1 the pov charge nl area west wheres the nepatog charges ae in ation. The contacted spslng ofthe ater leads tou et nega chatge 00 tet rats he poste charge n 1. The contracted spacings nb, and dare gently exaggerated, with cherge invariance? The answer is that we must consider the entite circuit of which the conductor is a part Because the circuit must be closed for a current to occur in it for every current element in one direction that a moving observer finds to have, say, positive charge, there must be another current element in the opposite direction wich the same observer finds to have @ negative charge. Hence magnetic forces always act between different pars of the same cieuit, even though the circu asa whole appears electrically neutral to all observers, The preceding discussion considered only a particular magnetic effect. All other ‘magnetic phenomena can also be interpreted on the basis of Coulomb law, charge in- variance, and special relativity although the analysis fs usually more complicated 2Chapter One 1.7. RELATIVISTIC MOMENTUM Redefining an important quantity Jn asc mechanics ier moment p = my i weil quantity beens its com> {evel in system of pares notated Upon by oie frees, When an erent such ‘Sr eolson or an explosion ocus inside an elated ye, the vector sum ofthe Towenta ofa pases Beloe the event f eqs to thet veto sum aera, We row have to ask whether p = mois valid the defniion of momentum im inet fame in cave motion, and not, what areal comect defntion I "paar with we requ that p be conserved in a calon forall observes in rk sive motion a constant veloc. Also, we Inow that p= mv holds cassia ‘Mechanica tht for ve Wotewer the celaialy comer then, it must Feduce tomy for such elects. ts consider an dase olson (inti, a clsion in which Kinetic energy is conserved) between two pares A and 8a essed by observes he reeence frames Sand wich arn ufo relate toton, The proeries ofA and B are {denial when determined i efeence frames in wbich they ae at ret. The frames S fda onented as in Fg. 1.13, wth ” moving i the +x erection with respect to athe vloty Before te colon, parle Aad been at rest n fame 5 and parle Bin fume ‘Then athe sme asta, Awa thrown in he + diet tthe sped Vq while B was thrown inthe ~y’ deco athe speed Vp, where Wa aa) “ence the behavior of A as seen from S is exactly the same asthe behavior of B as seen from S’. ‘When the two particles collide, A rebounds in the ~y direction atthe speed Va, while 8 rebounds inthe +y" direction atthe speed Vj. Ifthe particles are thrown from ‘postions ¥ apart, an observer in $ fins thatthe collision occurs at y = IY and one tn 1S finds that it occurs at y’ = y = 4Y. The round-tip time T for A as measured in frame § is therefore y bay aay and ft isthe same for B in S' y ney Im S the speed Vp is found from y ms 12 A a) where Tis the time requlzed fr B to make its round trip as measured in. n S, however, Bs trip requites the time To, where ap)elatity ee ¢ 2 Collision as sen rom frame S 4 Collision s sen rom frame 2 4 Figure 1.9 An cast colin as observed in two diferent fas of reference The bala ttlly "Yapac, which she same distance in bth frames nce moves only inthe x dein ‘sccording to our previous results. Although observers in both frames see the same event, they disagree about the length of time the particle thrown from the other frame requites to make the collision and return. Replacing T in Eq. (1.12) with its equivalent in terms of To, we have vee Meee 5 TeChapter One y From Eq, (1.10), “nz If we use the classical definition of momentum, p = mv, then in frame S nenvien(Z) pr=mavy= ma Vin we) “This means that, inthis frame, momentum will not be conserved if mg = ma, where ‘mg and mg are the masses as measured in S. However, if ma. =" Je a then momentum will be conserved, Tn the collision of Fig 1.13 both A and Bare moving in both frames. Suppose now that Vj and Vp are very small compared with v the relative velocity ofthe two frames. {in this case an observer in $ will see B approach A with the velocity v, make a glanc- ing collision (since Vj aoa momentum Vi-we then conservation of momentum is valid in speclal relativity When v << ¢, Eq. (1.16) becomes just p ~ mv, the classical momentum, a5 required. Equation (1.16) is often writen 85 Relativistic ) ain mer om nmin Pope LEY aus) In this definition, m is the proper mass (or rest mass) of an object. ts mass when measured at rest refative to an observer, (The symbol 7 i the Greek leter gamma.)Relativtey 25 wy “Relativistic Mass” | VQ E> VRE WW cz atecrately ep ihe ines nan objets momentum over be clicvalae ray aN ober as being due to an increase in the objects mass. Then we would call mo =m the rest Alp (U2) « I inal eeu = mo fom {1 ts nv ae mas whee omega paar v8 sine to an stares 0 at p~ mr. This the vew fen en nthe pan omrtmeren Cludiplo dy Mew m0) by Einstein. gre, sista I ey man 29% sed becuse e . “orca dteton ca ges Dent w tartare ose mas creeps he a Sea Writ Gok Gots nat ood DE GISTSCUGAE ees Uteur 2 Abaca anon” im ‘us hich wl be contd aly ran : Figue 1.14 shows how pvaes with o/e for both ym and mo, When v/s sal, sv and yar very ney the same (For v= Ole the ference i oly O00 erent for v= Oi iis O3 percent, sll al. As v approaches, however te ve or ym iss more and mere seepy or = 09 he dfeence 6239 pecan ify cop = ymu-= whch simpoasble, We conelade tht no tatral een ok travel as fast as light. Dat what i spacecraft moving aw = 0.5 relate to th earth es «proce suvy = Ose nthe same dectn? We on earth ght expec to observe the es eS peed an, vy = c Acalya discussed in Append tol chapter wlssy dion elt sno so simples process, and we wou fn he poetics speed tobe only 8c m sucha ewe Relativis In relativity Newnons second law of motion i given by | oe leo dm | aap \ Fa P= fm) aay) This is more complicated than the classical formula F = ma because 7 isa function of v. When u-< ¢, 1 is very neatly equal to 1, and F is very nearly equal to mv, as it should be. 2 ’ oor 04 06 08 10 Wacky to we Figure 1.14 The momentum ofan object moving atte veloc w elie to an observer The must mf the objects vale when ts tres teltve wo the chee. The object's vlocty can never teach c becanse is momentum would then be infin, which i impose. The wtvatie momen "my ie aways correct; the clase momentutn mu is vad fo velcies mach smaller Ca ¢26 Chapter One : Example 1.5 Find the aceleration of « pale of mast m and velocy v when it is acted upon bythe con- stant free F, where F is paall to. Solution From Fa, (1.19), singe @ = du/a, Fe fomens( yas) a Vine oof 2 ve her] ser Wer ‘We note that F is equal to 7a, not to ya. Merely replacing m by ym tn classical formulas “ | oy does not always give a relativisically correct result. ey a “The acceleration of the parle s therefore Eq-wepe teen hgh the fae commas, he cletn of epider wacky a Bee ES. ef can seve rach ped oh, codon we , oe : 1.8 MASS AND ENERGY sme comes from famous relationship Einstein obiained from the postulates of special how powerful they turn out to bel-—concemns mass and energy. Let us see_ hhow this relationship canbe derived from what we already know. ) 9 nae ke eon TA X stant force of magnitude F that acts through the distance 5, whiere Fis in the same ‘nrecion ass, is given by W ~ Fs, If no other forces act om the object and the ob- ject sta from cet all the work done on it becomes kineie energy KE, o KE = FS. Invthe general case where F need not be constant, the formula for kinetle energy is the integral , > : — & ab whi 4» ome db ui)ar 2) = fre \ ‘in nonrelativistic physics, the kineie energy of an object of mass m and speed v is KE = frnv?, To find the correct relativistic formula for KE we start from the relativistic “Gormrot thé second law of motion, Eq. (1.19), which gives ve= [04 - ("0 arm = [04 7s)o a ye - }a ,(rmr) ds j alémr) A) at a vee we dlnge) ro = > ("ed (ae po vs fey 29-| , fi an ce x aren Pp by “Ee Bower CF i de — “Oe Me Vik ° oe - we IES : ov . rasa o duc. 2a ae a Tt ’ ce Vee Tz oe Cx a ie ac - Bee : zZ = WD om -we\, 1 hn c w]e 4 mw nce en = += | prot “ ice : Lt ple wt we eas We | a swt, we ha = c é none) Pod > — we (ye rea -uh s Ce JS,Relativity 27 Inuegrating by pans (f x dy = ay ~ fy ds), Se RY], (1.20) 7 “This reslt states thatthe kinetic energy of an objet is equal to the ference berween -yme and m2. Equation (1.20) may, be welten, an os ‘fe imerpeet-ym asthe total energy E ofthe object, we see that when i is a rest and KE = 0, it nevertheless possesses the energy mc. Accordingly mz is called the rest energy Ep of something whose mass is m. We therefore have [are | wher oS tot eer [nem az If the object is moving, its total energy is ee | 0 bé oul ener od = aay ) al | ™" virwe | > Example 1.6 {A stationary body explodes into two fragments each of mast 1.0 ig that move apart at speeds ‘of 06 relative tothe original body. Find the mass ofthe orginal body. Solution ‘The et enegy of the original body must equal the sum ofthe ttl enerls ofthe fragments, Hence 2a yme ee me . me Boned + mt” ee * Vine 0.0 a3 Viega Since mass and energy ate not independent entities, their separate conservation prin- ciples are properly a single one—the principle of conservation of mass energy. Mass an be created or destroyed, but when this happens, an equivalent amount of energy simultaneously vanishes or comes into being, and vice versa, Mass and energy are if- ferent aspects of the same thing. and28 Chapter One Tes worth emphasizing the illerence between a conserved quanti, such a5 tot energy, and an invariant quantity, such as proper mzss. Conservation of E means that, tna given reference frame, the total energy of some isolated system remains the same regardless of what events occu inthe system. However, the total energy may be di- ferent as measured from another Frame. On the other hand, the invariance of m means that m Ras the same value in all inertial frames. “The conversion factor between the unit of mass (he Kilogram, kg) and the unit of energy (the joule, J) isc, s0 1 kg of matter—the mass of this book is about that—as fn energy content of met = (1 kgXG X 10° mA’ = 9 X 10! J. This is enough to Send a payload ofa million tons to the moon. How is it possible for so much energy to be botled up in even a modest amount of matter without anybody having been ‘ovare of it until Einstein work? In fact, processes in which rest energy is liberated are very fara, 1 simply that we do not usualy think of them in such terms In every chemical reaction that evolves nergy. a cerain amount of matter disappears, but the lost mas i so smal a faction Of the total mass ofthe reacting substances that its impercepuble. Hence the “aw” of conservation of mass in chemistry. For instance, only about 6 X 107" kg of mater vanishes when 1 kg of dynamite explodes, which is impossible to measure directly, but the more than 5 million joules of energy that is released is hard to avoid noticing. Example 1.7 + Solar eneray reaches the earh a the ate of about 1.4 KW per square meter of surface perpen- ‘cular to the direction ofthe aun (Fg. 1.15). By how much does the mass ofthe sun decrease per second owing to this energy les? The mean radi ofthe earth obi is 1.5 X 10" m, Selar edaion * ——_- 1 Fore 1.15, Solution “The surface area of «sphere of radius ri A = 47. The total power radiated bythe sun, which Is equal tothe power received by «sphere whose radius that of the earth orbit, therefore pe Ean Eton) = 4X10 wet. w= 49910838 “Ths the sun loses Eo = 4.0% 10% of rex energy per second, which means thatthe sun rest ras decreases by a Fe, 4010) m2” Boxe mnt per second, Since the sun ast 2.0 X 10” kg, iin no immediate danger of running out ‘bf mater The ciel enery-producing process inthe sun and most other stars the conversion Gof Hydrogen to helium ins inferior. The formation ofeach helium nucleus is acompanied by the release of 4.0 % 107! J of energy, 0 10” helium nucle are produced inthe sun per secon. ee = Aa x10 hgRelativity Kinetic Energy at Low Speeds ‘When the relative speed v is small compared with ¢, the formula for kinetic energy ‘must reduce to the familiar $m, which has been verified by experiment at such speeds. Let us see if this i true. The relativistic formal for kinete energy ts . as me te wd nd a nt coy [= cetinvi=we on Site v2 <€ 1, we can use the binomial approximation (I + x)? = 1 + mx, valid lor bt € 1, to obsain ‘At low speeds the relativistic expression for the Kinetic energy of a moving object does indeed reduce to the clasical one. So far as is known, the correct formulation of ‘mechanics has its bassin relativity, with class mechanics representing an approxi- mation that is valid only when vc Figure 1.16 shows how the linetic energy of rr 2 10 " os o- 02 ° 0 02 04 as 08 10 12 14 16 Faure 1.18 comparison between the cascaland rele forms forthe rato between kinetic ‘com KE of «moving body and is rest energy me. low sped the ovo formulas give these res but they diverge a speeds approaching that of ight. According to elatvic rechanis,«body ‘would need an infinite knee energy to travel wit the opeed of Hight, whereas in seal techan- Jes would eed oly nec energy of lf a et energy to have ths sped 2930. Chapter One 4 moving object vaties with its speed according to both classical and relativistic mechanics The degree of accuracy required is what determines whether it is more appropri- ste to use the classical or to use the relativistic formulas for kinetic energy. For in- stance, when v= 107 ws (0.0330), the formula inv? understate the true Kinetic energy by only 0.08 percent; when ¥ = 3 X 10" mvs (0.1c), it understates the true kinetic energy by 0.8 percent: but when v = 1.5 X 10° m/s (0.50), the understate- rment isa significant 19 percent; and when v = 0,999, the understatement is a whop- ping 4300 percent, Since 10” mis is about 6310 mi the nonrelativistic formal mv? is entirely satisfactory for finding the kinetic energies of ordinary objects, and it fails only at the extremely high speeds reached by elementary particles under eet- (in circumstances. 1.9 ENERGY AND MOMENTUM How they fit together in relativity ‘otal energy and momentum are conserved in an isolated system, and the rest energy of a particle is invariant. Hence these quantities are in some sense more fundamental than velocity or kinetle energy which are neither. Let us look into how the total en- ergy, rest energy, and momentum of a panicle are related. ‘We begin with Eq. (1.23) for total energy, Total enerzy aa» end square to give Poe From Eq, (1.17) for moment, severest | aan \ swe find that mivie Fem Ie Now we subtract pc? fom #: mid= mid _ mia - v2) Bape ae ae = (me?