Special Relativity

Postulates of special relativity

  1. Laws of physics are constant in all inertial reference frames

  2. Speed of light is the same to all observers (proved by Michelson-Morley)

, must dilate as speed changes.

Time and space - four dimensional relationship

Inertial reference frame - not accelerating

Proper time / length - measured by observer in same frame as events

Lorentz factor

Proper (time|length) denoted by () is time observed from moving frame.

Applied:

(time - longer in moving frame)
(length - only contracts in direction of motion - shorter in moving frame)
(mass dilation)

( m / s)

Mass-energy equivalence

(rest energy)

(total energy)

Relativistic momentum

Low speeds - little difference between relativistic & non-relativistic momentum
approaches as speed approaches
Impossible to reach speed of light (speed requires energy)
Photon has no mass - zero space or time

Total energy of an object

Kinetic energy

(takes relativity into account - use for fast objects)

Rest energy

(where ) - this is the innate mass energy (proper energy)

Work

Velocity

Fusion / Fission equations

eV to J: multiply by (charge of an electron)

High altitude muons