Oas Community College

Oas, Albay

BSEd – 3B

CONCEPCION R. DELGADO
Instructor

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

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Module 1-Modern Physics
Most of our everyday experiences and observations have to do with objects that move much
less than the speed of light. Newtonian mechanics was formulated to describe the motion of
such objects, and its formalism is quite successful in describing a wide range of phenomena
that occur at low speeds. If fails, however, when applied to particles having speeds
approaching that of light.

Experimentally, for example, it’s possible to accelerate an electron a speed of 0.99c

(where c is the speeds of light) by using a potential difference of several million volts.
According to Newtonian mechanics, if the potential difference is increased by a factor of 4, the
electron’s kinetic energy is four times greater and its speed should double to 1.98c.
Experiments, however, show that the speed of the electron — as well as the speed of any
other particle that has mass — always remains less than the speed of light, regardless of the
size of the accelerating voltage.

The existence of a universal speed limit has far - reaching consequences. It means
that the usual concepts of force, momentum, and energy no longer apply for rapidly moving
objects. A less obvious consequence is that observers moving at different speeds will
measure different time intervals and displacements between the same two events. Relating
the measurements made by different observers is the subject of relativity

At the end of this module, you must be able to:

1. know more about the life of Albert Einstein;
2. understand and explain the principles governing the theory of relativity; and
3. understand the forces in the universe through astrophysics.

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Module 1-Modern Physics
 Table of Contents

Preface 2
Pre-Test 4
Lesson 1 – Density and Specific Gravity
Objective and Discussion of the Topic 6
Task 1.1.1 8
Task 1.1.2 10
Lesson 2 – Pressure
Objectives 11
Discussion of the Topic 11
Task 1.2 14
Lesson 3 – Atmospheric Pressure
Objectives and Discussion of the Topic 15
Task 1.3 17
Post-Test 17
References 18

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Module 1-Modern Physics
MULTIPLE CHOICE: Choose the letter of the correct answer.

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Module 1-Modern Physics
 LESSON 1
Theory of Relativity

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. know more about the life of Albert Einstein;
2. understand and explain the principles governing the theory of
relativity.

Discussion of the Topic

The Great Scientist Behind the Theory of Relativity

Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on March 14, 1879. He was
described as a slow learner and that he learned to speak at a much later age than his
contemporaries. His father feared that he might be mentally retarded. However, his
records from the elementary school he attended in Munich showed that he was
remarkably gifted in mathematics and physics, and in playing the violin. At the age of
15, he was expelled just as he was about to drop out, because he rebelled at the
practice of education by rote and regimentation.
Einstein earned his doctorate in 1905 and published four major papers. The
first paper was about the quantum theory of light, which won him the 1921 Nobel
Perize in Physics. His second paper was regarding the statistical aspects of the
molecular theory and the Brownian motion. The third paper was about special
relativity. Later in 1915, he published another paper about the general theory of
relativity, with Newton’s Theory as a special case. The fourth paper and most famous
paper discussed the mass-energy equivalence, which is represented by the equation
E = mc2. These papers greatly affected the development of physics.
In 1940, he became an American citizen. He died on April 17, 1955 after
succumbing to aortic aneurysm.
Einstein’s works and theories captured the imagination and curiosity of his
fellow scientists and ordinary men and women.
GALILEAN RELATIVITY
According to the principle of Galilean relativity, the laws of mechanics must
be the same in all inertial frames of reference. Inertial frames of reference are those
in which Newton’s laws are valid. In these frames, objects move in straight lines at
constant speed unless acted on by a nonzero net force, thus the name “inertial frame”
because objects

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Module 1-Modern Physics
observed from these frames obey Newton’s first law, the law of inertia. For the situation
described in the previous paragraph, the laboratory coordinate system and the
coordinate system of the moving car are both inertial frames of reference.
Consequently, if the laws of mechanics are found to be true in the laboratory, then the
person in the car must also observe the same laws.

If a passenger in the truck throws a ball

straight up in the air, the passenger observes
that the ball moves in a vertical path. The
motion of the ball is precisely the same as it
would be if the ball were thrown while at rest on
Earth. The law of gravity and the equations of
motion under constant acceleration are obeyed
whether the truck is at rest or in uniform motion.

The second picture shows that the ball is viewed

by another observer at rest on Earth. This
stationary observer views the path of the ball in
the truck to be parabola. It shows that the ball
has a velocity to the right equal to the velocity of
the truck.

The motion of the ball obeys the law of gravity and Newton’s laws of motion. It can
be concluded that There is no preferred frame of reference for describing the
laws of mechanics.

It’s natural to ask whether the concept of Galilean relativity in mechanics also
applies to experiments in electricity, magnetism, optics, and other areas. Experiments
indicate that the answer is no. Further, if we assume the laws of electricity ,and
magnetism are the same in all inertial frames, a paradox concerning the speed of light
immediately arises. According to electromagnetic theory, the speed of light always has
the fixed value of 2.997 924 58 x 108 m/s in free space.

According to Galilean relativity, however, the speed of the pulse relative to the
stationary observer S outside the boxcar in Figure should be c + v. Hence, Galilean
relativity is inconsistent with Maxwell’s well-tested theory of electromagnetism.

Electromagnetic theory predicts that light waves must propagate through free
space with a speed equal to the speed of light. The theory doesn’t require the presence
of a medium for wave propagation, however. This is in contrast to other types of waves,
such as water or sound waves, that do require a medium to support the disturbances.
In the nineteenth century, physicists thought that electromagnetic waves also required

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Module 1-Modern Physics
a medium to propagate. They proposed that such a medium existed and gave it the
name luminiferous ether. The ether was assumed to be present everywhere, even
in empty space, and light waves were viewed as ether oscillations. Further, the ether
would have to be a massless but rigid medium with no effect on the motion of planets
or other objects. These concepts are indeed strange. In addition, it was found that the
troublesome laws of electricity and magnetism would take on their simplest forms in a
special frame of reference at rest with respect to the ether. This frame was called the
absolute frame. The laws of electricity and magnetism would be valid in this absolute
frame, but they would have to be modified in any reference frame moving with respect
to the absolute frame.

As a result of the importance attached to the

ether and the absolute frame, it became of
considerable interest in physics to prove by experiment
that they existed. Because it was considered likely that
Earth was in motion through the ether, from the view of
an experimenter on Earth, there was an “ether wind”
blowing through the laboratory. A direct method for
detecting the ether wind would use an apparatus fixed
to Earth to measure the wind’s influence on the speed
of light. If v is the speed of the ether relative to Earth,
then the speed of light should have its maxim value, c
+ v, when propagating downwind, as shown in Figure
a. Likewise, the speed of light should have its minimum
value, c - v, when propagating upwind, as in Figure b,
and an intermediate value, (c2 - v 2)1/2, in the direction
perpendicular to the ether wind, as in Figure c. If the
Sun were assumed to be at rest in the ether, then the
velocity of the ether wind would be equal to the orbital
velocity of Earth around the Sun, which has a
magnitude of approximately 3 x 104 m/s. Because
c = 3 x 108 m/s, it should be possible to detect a change
in speed of about 1 part in 104 for measurements in the
upwind or downwind direction.

The Michelson–Morley experiment, however, disproved the ether wind hypothesis,

leading to Einstein’s postulate that the speed of light in vacuum has the same value
regardless of the motion of an inertial observer.

In 1905, Albert Einstein proposed a theory that explained the result of the
Michelson-Morley experiment and completely altered our notions of space and time.
He based his special theory of relativity on two postulates:

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Module 1-Modern Physics
 1. The principle of relativity:
All laws of physics are the same in all inertial reference frames.

2. The constancy of the speed of light:

The speed of light in an empty space has the same value,
c = 2.997 924 58 x 108 m/s, in all inertial reference frames, regardless of
the velocity of the observer or the velocity of the source emitting the light.

Einstein was not convinced that a light beam would appear as if it is at rest if one
travels along beside it. Instead, he concluded that light could be measured by an observer
as if it is moving away from him at approximately 3 x 108 m/s ( 300 000 km/s)

MASS AND VELOCITY

Contrary to the belief that mass is constant wherever it is taken and whether it is
moving or at rest, Einstein considers that the mass of a moving body is not constant. This
is explained by Newton’s law of acceleration where, according to Einstein, the mass of an
object increases when work is done to increase the 1velocity of an object. This is shown
in the equation

𝑚0
mrel = 2
√1− 𝑣2
𝑐

where mrel is the relativistic mass, v is the speed, mo is the mass of the body when at
rest, or its mass, and c is the speed of light.

Example:

An electron is travelling at half the speed of light. Compute the relativistic mass of the
electron if its rest mass is 9.11 x 10-31 kg.

Given

𝑚0
mrel = 2
√1− 𝑣2
𝑐
9.11 𝑥 10−31 9.11 𝑥 10−31
mrel = = 1
1 2 √1−
√1− (2𝑐) 4
𝑐2
= 1.15 ( 9.11 𝑥 10−31 )
= 1.05 x 10-30 kg

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Module 1-Modern Physics
Task 1.1.1

Answer the following.

1. True or False. If you were traveling in a spaceship at a speed of c/2 relative to Earth and
you fired a laser beam in the direction of the spaceship’s motion, the light from the laser
would travel at a speed of 3c/2 relative to Earth.

2. Choose the option from each pair that makes the following statement correct.
According to an observer at rest, moving clocks run more [(a) slowly; (b) quickly] than
Stationary clocks and moving rods [(c) longer; (d) shorter] than stationary rods.

3. An object in motion has a mass of 12 kg and travels in the air with a velocity of 0.82c.
What would be its rest mass?

4. A particle with a rest mass of 1.26 x 10-24 kg travels with a velocity of 0.65c. What is its
relativistic mass?

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Module 1-Modern Physics
 LESSON 2
Equivalence of Mass and Energy

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Explain how matter can be converted into energy
2. Solve problems involving Equivalence of mass and energy.

Discussion of the Topic

As we have seen, energy cannot be created or destroyed, but only converted from
one form to another. One of the remarkable conclusions derived by Albert Einstein (see note
on Albert Einstein when he developed his theory of relativity is that matter can be considered
a form of energy too and can be converted into energy. Furthermore, energy can also be
converted into matter. This seemed to contradict what humans had learned over thousands of
years by studying nature. Matter is something we can see and touch, whereas energy is
something objects have when they do things like move or heat up. The idea that matter or
energy can be converted into each other seemed as outrageous as saying you could
accelerate a car by turning the bumper into more speed, or that you could create a bigger front
seat by slowing down your car. That would be pretty difficult to believe; yet, the universe
actually works somewhat like that.

Converting Matter into Energy

The remarkable equivalence between matter and energy is given in one of the most
famous equations:
E=mc2

In this equation, E stands for energy, m stands for mass, and c, the constant that relates the
two, is the speed of light (3 × 108 meters per second). Note that mass is a measure of the
quantity of matter, so the significance of this equation is that matter can be converted into
energy and energy can be converted into matter. The equation shows that mass and energy
are not the same.

When we convert matter into energy, we consider how much mass the matter has.
Note that matter does not have to travel at the speed of light (or the speed of light squared)
for this conversion to occur. The factor of c2 is just the number that Einstein showed must be
used to relate mass and energy.
Notice that this formula does not tell us how to convert mass into energy. The formulas
merely tell us what the equivalent values are if we succeed in making the conversion. When
Einstein first derived his formula in 1905, no one had the faintest idea of how to convert mass
into energy in any practical way. Einstein himself tried to discourage speculation that the large-
scale conversion of atomic mass into energy would be feasible in the near future. Today, as a

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Module 1-Modern Physics
result of developments in nuclear physics, we regularly convert mass into energy in power
plants, nuclear weapons, and high-energy physics experiments in particle accelerators.

Because the speed of light squared (c2) is a very large quantity, the conversion of even
a small amount of mass results in a very large amount of energy. For example, the complete
conversion of 1 gram of matter (about 1/28 ounce, or approximately 1 paperclip) would
produce as much energy as the burning of 15,000 barrels of oil.

Scientists soon realized that the conversion of mass into energy is the source of the
Sun’s heat and light. With Einstein’s equation of E = mc2, we can calculate that the amount of
energy radiated by the Sun could be produced by the complete conversion of about 4 million
tons of matter into energy inside the Sun each second. Destroying 4 million tons per second
sounds like a lot when compared to earthly things, but bear in mind that the Sun is a very big
reservoir of matter. In fact, we will see that the Sun contains more than enough mass to destroy
such huge amounts of matter and still continue shining at its present rate for billions of years.

We have seen that the definition of momentum required generalization to make

it compatible with the principle of relativity. Likewise, the definition of kinetic energy requires
modification in relativistic mechanics. Einstein found that the correct expression for the
kinetic energy of an object is

The constant term mc2 is independent of the speed of the object, is called the rest energy of
the object, ER:

The term 𝛾mc2 in Equation depends on the object’s speed and is the sum of the kinetic and
rest energies. We define 𝛾mc2 to be the total energy E, so

Total energy = kinetic energy + rest energy

This is Einstein’s famous mass-energy equivalence equation.

The relation E = 𝛾mc2 = KE + mc 2 shows the amazing result that a particle

stationary with respect to a given observer has a kinetic energy of zero and an energy
proportional to its mass. Further, a small mass corresponds to an enormous amount
of energy because the proportionality constant between mass and energy is large:

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Module 1-Modern Physics
c2 = 9 X 1016 m2/s2. The equation ER = mc2, as Einstein first suggested, indirectly implies
that the mass of a particle may be completely convertible to energy and that pure energy —
for example, electromagnetic energy — may be converted to particles having mass. That is
indeed the case, as has been shown in the laboratory many times in interactions involving
matter and antimatter.

On a larger scale, nuclear power plants produce energy by the fission of uranium,
which involves the conversion of a small amount of the mass of the uranium into energy. The
Sun, too, converts mass into energy and continually loses mass in pouring out a tremendous
amount of electromagnetic energy in all directions. It’s extremely interesting that although we
have been talking about the interconversion of mass and energy for particles, the expression
E = mc2 is universal and applies to all objects, processes, and systems: a hot object has
slightly more mass and is slightly more difficult to accelerate than an identical cold object
because it has more thermal energy, and a stretched spring has more elastic potential energy
and more mass than an identical unstretched spring. A key point, however, is that these
changes in mass are often far too small to measure. Our best bet for measuring mass changes
is in nuclear transformations, where a measurable fraction of the mass is converted into
energy.

Example:
1. How much energy is contained in a particle that has a mass of m=1μg?

2. Two grams of helium are completely converted into energy and used to power
a 100kg man. If all of this energy is converted into kinetic energy of the man, how fast will
he move?

Solution:
The energy from the two grams of helium:
1
E = mc2 KE = mv2
2
1
= 2g ( 3 x 108 m/s)2 1.8 x1014 = 100 v2
2

= 0.002 kg ∗ 9 x 1016m2/s2 v ≈ 1.9 x 106 m/s

= 1.8 X 1014 J

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Module 1-Modern Physics
Task 1.2

Answer the following.

1. An electron moves with a speed v =0.850c. Find its total energy and kinetic energy in
mega electron volts (MeV) and compare the latter to the classical kinetic energy
(106 eV =1 MeV).

2. Calculate the total energy and the kinetic energy in MeV of a proton traveling at 0.600c.
(The rest energy of a proton is approximately 938 MeV.)

3, A proton moves with a speed of 0.950c. Calculate

(a) its rest energy,
(b) its total energy, and
(c) its kinetic energy.

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Module 1-Modern Physics
 LESSON 3
Relativistic Momentum

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Calculate relativistic momentum.
2. Explain why the only mass it makes sense to talk about is rest mass.

Discussion of the Topic

The law of conservation of momentum states that when two bodies collide, the total
momentum remains constant, assuming the bodies are isolated ( that they interact only with
each other).
Momentum is a basic product of mass and velocity in classical physics. Massive
objects, on the other hand, have a speed limit when special relativity is taken into account.
What impact do you believe mass and velocity have on the momentum of relativistic objects?
One of the most essential concepts in physics is momentum. Newton's second law is
expressed in terms of momentum in its broadest form. When the net external force on a system
is zero, momentum is preserved. As a result, momentum conservation is an important tool for
studying collisions. Work, Energy, and Energy Resources are entirely dedicated to
momentum, although momentum has played a role in a variety of other disciplines, particularly
where collisions are involved. We'll show that momentum is just as important in modern
physics as it is in classical physics. Because relativistic momentum is conserved, scientists
can learn a lot about subatomic structure by studying the collisions of relativistic particles
produced by accelerators.
The first postulate of relativity states that the laws of physics are the same in all inertial
frames. Does the law of conservation of momentum survive this requirement at high
velocities? The answer is yes, provided that the momentum is defined as follows.

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Module 1-Modern Physics
 Note that we use u for velocity here to distinguish it
from relative velocity v between observers. Only one
observer is being considered here. With p defined in
this way, total momentum ptot is conserved whenever
the net external force is zero, just as in classical
physics. Again, we see that the relativistic quantity
becomes virtually the same as the classical at low
velocities. That is, relativistic
momentum γmu becomes the classical mu at low
velocities, because γ is very nearly equal to 1 at low
velocities. Relativistic momentum approaches infinity as the
velocity of an object approaches the speed of light.

Relativistic momentum has the same intuitive feel as classical momentum. It is greatest
for large masses moving at high velocities, but, because of the factor γ, relativistic momentum
approaches infinity as u approaches c. This is another indication that an object with mass
cannot reach the speed of light. If it did, its momentum would become infinite, an unreasonable
value.
The conservation of momentum is guaranteed in all inertial frames when relativistic
momentum is established. Relativistic momentum, like classical momentum, is conserved
whenever the net external force on a system is zero. Several experiments have confirmed
this.
In Relativistic Energy, the relationship of relativistic momentum to energy is
explored. That subject will produce our first inkling that objects without mass may also have
momentum.

Example 1:
What is the momentum of an electron traveling at a speed 0.985c? The rest mass of the
electron is 9.11 × 10−31 kg.

Given:
m = 9.11 × 10−31 kg
v = 0.985c
Solution
𝑚𝑢 (9.11 × 10−31 kg)(0.985)(3.00 x 108 𝑚/𝑠)
p=𝛾mu= 2
= 2
= 1.56 x 10−21 kg∙ 𝑚/𝑠
√1− 𝑢2 √1− (0.985)
2
𝑐 𝑐

Example 2

Task 1.3

1. Find the momentum of a helium nucleus having a mass of 6.68 × 10 −27 kg that
is moving at 0.200c.
2. What is the momentum of an electron traveling at 0.980c?
3. (a) Find the momentum of a 1.00 × 10 9 kg asteroid heading towards the Earth
at 30.0 km/s. (b) Find the ratio of this momentum to the classical momentum.
1 𝑣2
(Hint: Use the approximation that γ=1+( ) ( 2 ) at low velocities.)
2 𝑐

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Module 1-Modern Physics
4. What is the velocity of an electron that has a momentum of 3.04 × 10 −21 kg ·
m/s? Note that you must calculate the velocity to at least four digits to see the
difference from c.
5. (a) Calculate γ for a proton that has a momentum of 1.00 kg · m/s. (b) What is
its speed? Such protons form a rare component of cosmic radiation with
uncertain origins.

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Module 1-Modern Physics
III. References:
• Kirkpatrick &Wheeler. Physics: A World View. USA. Saunders College
Publishing
• Raymond Serway. College Physics.Cengage
• https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=uTM8AAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&
source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
• https://phys.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Modern_Physics/Book%3A_Spiral_Mod
ern_Physics_(D'Alessandris)/2%3A_The_Special_Theory_of_Relativity__Dyna
mics/2.1%3A_Relativistic_Momentum%2C_Force_and_Energy

CONCEPCION R. DELGADO
Instructor

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Module 1-Modern Physics