The Physical Universe – PHYS101

Lecture 9: Relativity 1
Postulates, Simultaneity and Time
Dilation
Attendance code:

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 Outline of Today’s Lecture
1) Introduction
2) Galilean relativity
3) Problems with classical
physics
4) Einstein’s postulates
5) Relativity of simultaneity
6) Relativity of time intervals
7) Summary

Consideration of the
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
need for relativity; concepts Public domain Wikipedia

of time and simultaneity.

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 Introduction to Today’s Lecture:
A revolution in physics
• The special theory of relativity, due to Einstein (1905),
revolutionized our ideas of time and space.
• Based on just two simple postulates, it led to weird
consequences seemly contrary to “common sense”:
– Events simultaneous for one observer may not be for another.
– Observers moving relative to each other may disagree about time
intervals and length measurements.
– Newtonian ideas of kinetic energy and momentum need revision.
– The addition of velocities cannot be done just by summing them.

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 Theories of relativity

Einstein published two theories of relativity:

• Theory of special relativity (1905). Deals with constant
velocities.
• Theory of general relativity (1915). Deals with accelerated
frames of reference and gravity.
We will consider the special theory only.

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 Need for “operational thinking”

• Einstein emphasized the need to examine carefully how

measurements were actually made – what is measurable
and what is not – by thinking in terms of the operations
required to make an observation.
• One must not take anything for granted, and must feel
free to abandon “common sense” where it conflicts with
observations and logic.
“Common sense is nothing more than a
deposit of prejudices laid down by the
mind before you reach eighteen.”
A. Einstein

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Galilean relativity: Frames of reference

• Measurements must be made in a frame of reference.

• So what happens if you measure the same thing from
two different frames of reference?
• Newtonian physics assumes Galilean relativity, and uses
the Galilean transformation to convert coordinates and
velocities in one frame to different coordinates and
velocities in the other – they are different if there is
relative motion between the frames.
• In special relativity, there is the Lorentz transformation
instead – leading to totally different results for large
velocities, as we will see.
• First let’s consider classical Galilean relativity.
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 Galilean transformation

• Consider two frames of 𝑆 𝑆′

reference, S and S′. 𝑦 𝑦′
• Consider frame S to be 𝑃
stationary, and S′ to be
moving with relative
velocity 𝑢 in the 𝑥 𝑂
direction, with their origins 𝑥 𝑂′ 𝑥′
𝑢𝑡
coincident at time 𝑡 = 0.
If a particle P is at (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) in S, and at (𝑥′, 𝑦′, 𝑧′) in S′, then
𝑥 = 𝑥′ + 𝑢𝑡, 𝑦 = 𝑦′, 𝑧 = 𝑧′
which is the Galilean coordinate transformation.
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 Galilean velocity transformation

• The Galilean coordinate transformation

𝑥 = 𝑥′ + 𝑢𝑡, 𝑦 = 𝑦′, 𝑧 = 𝑧′
can be differentiated with respect to 𝑡:
𝑑𝑥 𝑑𝑥′
= +𝑢
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
• But 𝑑𝑥/𝑑𝑡 is velocity 𝑣𝑥 measured in S, and 𝑑𝑥′/𝑑𝑡 is
velocity 𝑣𝑥′ measured in S′, so
𝑣𝑥 = 𝑣𝑥 ′ + 𝑢
which is the Galilean velocity transformation.
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 Problems with classical physics:
wrinkles
• Around 1900, several wrinkles were appearing in our –
to some – nearly complete scientific understanding:
– A null result from the Michelson-Morley “ether drift” experiment.
– Unresolved inconsistencies in electrodynamics.
– Questions about what a light wave is really “like”.
– Problems with spectra, black-body radiation, the “ultraviolet
catastrophe”, etc – that were resolved by the introduction of
quantum mechanics.
• Einstein was especially influenced by the 3rd of these,
but special relativity also resolves the first two as well.
• The time was ripe for a scientific revolution... new
models of reality...
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 Ether & “ether-drift” of the Earth?

• “Ether” was the hypothetical medium that carried

electromagnetic radiation.
• It proved highly elusive.
• The Michelson-Morley experiment (1887) was an attempt
to measure the velocity of the Earth through the ether:

Image from Wikimedia Commons Image from Wikimedia Commons

 Michelson interferometer

• The Michelson interferometer

detects tiny differences in the
transit time of light along two
paths at right angles.
• Light from the source is
divided into two beams that
travel different paths, and
eventually interfere in the
telescope.
• Produces bright, clear,
interference fringes.
Figure from
University Physics Volume 3, p128 11
Access for free at openstax.org
The actual Michelson interferometer (1887)

The optical table can be rotated on a bath of mercury.

Image from Wikimedia Commons 12
 Michelson-Morley result

• No detectable shift in the pattern was seen when the

apparatus was rotated through 90°.
• For 𝑣 = 30 𝑘𝑚𝑠 −1 , expected shift of 0.4 fringes – small
but easily detectable (sensitivity 0.05 fringes).
• Experiment repeated 6 months later: same null result.
• Possible explanations:
– A layer of ether dragged along with the Earth – but how could it
be non-dissipative?
– Lorentz-FitzGerald contraction? “Ether pressure” might cause
the apparatus to contract from its natural length 𝐿0 to:
𝐿 = 𝐿0(1 − 𝑣2/𝑐2)1/2
(Right result, wrong reason)
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 Problems with electrodynamics
(a) (b)
• The laws of mechanics are
covariant – they retain their 𝐹𝐸 𝐹𝐸
form – under a Galilean
transformation. 𝑞 + 𝑞 + 𝑣
• But this is not true for
electromagnetism. 𝐹𝐵
Consider e.g. two charges 𝐹𝐵
observed from their rest
frame and a moving frame: 𝑞 + 𝑞 + 𝑣
a) In the rest frame, there’s
just electrostatic repulsion.
𝐹𝐸 𝐹𝐸
b) In a moving frame, there
are magnetic forces too.
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 “Travelling with a beam of light”

• When aged 16, Einstein wondered what one would see if

one travelled along with the light beam?
• Maybe stationary sinusoidal variations of 𝐸 and 𝐵
making up the wave?
• But these are not allowed solutions of Maxwell’s
equations, which require the wave to propagate at 𝑐.
• Given the other difficulties, he realised –
– Either Maxwell’s equations required reformulation, or
– The laws of mechanics required reformulation.
• He concluded that Galilean relativity and mechanics
needed modification, and started looking for a powerful
new universal principle.
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 Einstein’s postulates:
A new starting point
• Einstein new universal principles are two postulates:
1) The laws of physics are the same in all inertial
frames of reference.
2) The speed of light in vacuum is the same in all
inertial frames of reference and is independent of
the motion of the source.
• Note: they are just postulates – assertions that can be
tested by experiment.
• They profoundly change our view of space and time.

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 Einstein’s First Postulate

1) The laws of physics are the same in all inertial

frames of reference.

• Not difficult to accept – now it seems intuitively

reasonable.
• Emphasizes that there is nothing special, nothing
privileged about any particular frame of reference.
• It blows away the ether idea.
• It immediately accounts for the mysterious Michelson-
Morley null result, because no experiment can ever yield
an absolute velocity of an inertial frame.

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 Einstein’s Second Postulate

2) The speed of light in vacuum is the same in all

inertial frames of reference and is independent of
the motion of the source.

• The second postulate may be deduced from the first

one, if it is applied to Maxwell’s wave equation, whose
only solution is a wave moving at speed 𝑐.
• The second postulate is much harder to accept
intuitively:
– If light is a wave, one wants to measure velocity relative to a
medium of propagation – but there is no medium.
– If light is particles, one wants to measure velocity relative to the
source – but this is forbidden.
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 Relativity of simultaneity:
Can events be simultaneous?
• Use a thought experiment to consider whether/how two
events can be simultaneous.
• Use only “operational thinking” to consider how
information is acquired by observers.
• Suppose Bob is in stationary frame B and Alice is in a
moving frame A – a train.
• Bob sees two simultaneous pulses of light, one from a
bulb at each end of the train carriage.
• Alive sits in the middle of the moving train carriage.
• What does Alice see?

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 Relativity of simultaneity:
Thought experiment (a)

Light is emitted from each end of the train

carriage.

Figure from
University Physics Volume 3, p184 20
Access for free at openstax.org
 Relativity of simultaneity:
Thought experiment (b)

Because of Alice’s motion (relative to Bob), she

sees the pulse from the right side first, and
concludes that the bulb on the right side flashed
first.

Figure from
University Physics Volume 3, p184 21
Access for free at openstax.org
 Relativity of simultaneity:
Thought experiment (c)

The light pulses appear to be emitted

simultaneously from Bob’s point of view.
The light from the left side hasn’t reached Alice
yet.

Figure from
University Physics Volume 3, p184 22
Access for free at openstax.org
 Relativity of simultaneity:
Who is “right”?
• Both wavefronts reach Bob at same time. Light travels at
velocity 𝑐. So he knows lightning strikes were
simultaneous.
• Wavefronts reach Alice at different times; she sits mid-
way along the train carriage. Light travels at velocity 𝑐 in
her frame too. So she knows lightning strikes were not
simultaneous.
• Who is right?
• Both – and neither!
• Each is correct within their frame of reference.

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 Meaning of simultaneity

• Because no inertial frame is better/worse than any other,

there is no basis for saying that either Alice or Bob is
correct in their assertion.
• “But what really happened?”
• The question is meaningless – need to apply operational
thinking. Given Einstein’s postulates, there must be a
different “reality” in each frame!
• Thus simultaneity is not absolute. It all depends on the
frame of reference in which the events are measured.
• Two events can only be truly simultaneous if they
happen in the same place.
• But what about time intervals?
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 Relativity of time intervals:
time in different frames
• Time intervals are defined as differences between times
of events.
• So if simultaneity of events varies between different
frames of reference, time intervals will differ too.
• We will find that time flows at different rates in different
frames of reference, depending on their relative
velocities.
• So we now seek a quantitative relationship between a
time interval in S and the corresponding time interval in
S′.
• Consider a measurement in two different frames.

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 Relativity of time intervals:
measuring a time interval
• Consider an astronaut in a spaceship who does an
experiment. They measures the time interval between
two events at the same point in space.
• The experiment is to measure the time taken for a flash
of light to travel from the floor to the ceiling and back to
the floor. So:
– Event 1 is the light flash leaving the source.
– Event 2 is the light flash returning to the source, after reflection
from the mirror on the ceiling.
• We ask what is the time interval between these events,
as viewed by: (a) the astronaut; (b) an observer on Earth
who observes the astronaut’s spaceship to be moving at
high speed 𝑢.
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 Relativity of time intervals:
the astronaut’s experiment

The Earth observer sees the light travelling a lot further

than the astronaut does. So the time it takes (at velocity 𝑐,
always) must be longer too.
Figure from
University Physics Volume 3, p186 27
Access for free at openstax.org
 The astronaut’s point of view

The astronaut measures a time

interval ∆𝑡0 given by
distance 2𝐷
∆𝑡0 = = (1)
speed 𝑐

Figure from
University Physics Volume 3, p186 28
Access for free at openstax.org
 The Earth observer’s point of view
The Earth observer measures
a time interval ∆𝑡 given by
distance 2𝑠
∆t = =
speed 𝑐 u

where (by Pythagoras)

𝑠 2 = 𝑢∆𝑡Τ2 2 + 𝐷2
Hence Figure from
University Physics Volume 3, p186
Access for free at openstax.org

2 𝑢∆𝑡Τ2 2 + 𝐷2
∆t = (2)
𝑐
To connect ∆𝑡0 and ∆t, eliminate 𝐷 from Eqs.(1) and (2).
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 Relativity of time intervals:
time passes at different rates
• From Eq.(1), write 𝐷 = 𝑐Δ𝑡0 Τ2 and sub into Eq.(2):
2 2
2 𝑐Δ𝑡0 𝑢Δ𝑡
Δ𝑡 = +
𝑐 2 2

• Square it, and solve for ∆𝑡:

Δ𝑡0
Δ𝑡 =
1 − 𝑢 2 Τ𝑐 2
• This result represents time dilation, and it is easily
generalised.

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Relativity of time intervals: time dilation
Δ𝑡0
Δ𝑡 =
1 − 𝑢 2 Τ𝑐 2
• ∆𝑡0 is the interval between two events at the same point
in space, as observed by someone at rest in the same
frame (that observer’s “rest frame”): proper time.
• ∆𝑡 is the interval between the same events, as seen by
another observer in a frame travelling at velocity 𝑢
relative to the first one.
• Note that:
– Must have 𝑢 < 𝑐 (or the denominator will be imaginary).
– Therefore, must always have ∆𝑡 > ∆𝑡0.
• So time passes more slowly, measured in the moving
frame – the effect known as “time dilation”. 31
 Relativity of time intervals:
nomenclature
Some quantities arise so often in relativity that it is useful to
define:
1
𝛾=
1 − 𝑢 2 Τ𝑐 2
and sometimes:
𝑢
𝛽=
𝑐
In terms of 𝛾, time dilation can thus be written as
Δ𝑡 = 𝛾Δ𝑡0
For 𝑢 ≪ 𝑐, 𝛾 ≈ 1, so Newtonian physics is OK....

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Relativity of time intervals:
Variation of 𝛾 with 𝑢
1
𝛾= ≥1
1 − 𝑢 2 Τ𝑐 2

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 Summary
• Einstein’s special (restricted) theory of relativity is based on
just two postulates.
• The (classical) Galilean transformation is inconsistent with
Einstein’s second postulate.
• Simultaneity between two events is not absolute; it depends
on the frame of reference from which they are measured.
• Correspondingly, clocks run slow when observed from a
moving frame of reference – a phenomenon known as time
dilation.
• The formula Δ𝑡 = 𝛾Δ𝑡0 tells us the degree of time dilation.
• Relativistic effects are tiny unless 𝑢 exceeds a significant
fraction of 𝑐.
• Please read Y&F Ch37 or OpenStaxVol3 Ch5. 34
 Example A: the muon paradox
Q: A muon has a lifetime of τ = 2.20 𝜇𝑠. If the muon has
a speed of 𝑢 = 0.990𝑐 with respect to the Earth, determine
the muon lifetime as measured by somebody on the Earth.

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 Example A: time dilation of muons
• The Muon’s lifetime of τ = 2.20 𝜇𝑠 is a proper time, i.e.
measured in the muon’s own frame of reference, where
the muon is stationary.
• But the muon velocity is 𝑢 = 0.990𝑐, so its clock appears
slowed to an observer on the Earth’s surface.
Δ𝑡0
• The time dilation formula tells that Δ𝑡 =
1−𝑢2 Τ𝑐 2
2.20×10−6 𝑠
• So, in this case, Δ𝑡 = = 15.6 × 10−6 𝑠
1− 0.990 2
• The muon lifetime in Earth’s frame is almost seven times
longer than in the muon’s frame.
• Hence, more muons reach the Earth’s surface than you
would expect classically.
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 Example B: fast rocket, slow clock
Q: How fast must a rocket travel – relative to the Earth –
so that its clock as measured from the Earth slows down to
half its rate ?

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 Example B: fast rocket solution
From the point of view of a clock on the rocket, a time interval
measured in the rocket is proper time ∆𝑡0 whereas
observation of the clock from a moving frame (e.g Earth) is
∆𝑡. We want ∆𝑡 = 2∆𝑡0 (interval is twice as long, so the clock
has halved its rate). With the time dilation formula Δ𝑡 = 𝛾Δ𝑡0 ,
this means 𝛾 = 2:
1
=2
2
1 − 𝑢 Τ𝑐 2

1 = 4 1 − 𝑢 2 Τ𝑐 2
1Τ4 = 1 − 𝑢2 Τ𝑐 2
𝑢2 Τ𝑐 2 = 3Τ4
𝑢Τ𝑐 = 3Τ2 = 0.866
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lecture.
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