A VIEW INTO RELATIVITY

[ SPECIAL]
In a quartet of papers in the miracle year of 1905 Einstein
proposed the special theory of relativity, provided proof of
the existence of atoms, put quantum mechanics on a solid
empirical foundation, and unveiled what would become the
most famous equation in science, E = mc2. It is the 1905 paper
that founded the special theory of relativity, a term that
Einstein coined about ten years later.
The majestic scientic achievement of the 20th century in
mathematical beauty and experimental verications has been
the special theory of relativity. This theory is one of the
foundation blocks of modern theoretical physics.

Attempts to measure the absolute velocity of the earth through

the hypothetical ether had failed. The most famous of these
experiments is one performed by Michelson and Morley in
1887 [Feynman and Sands (1964)]. It was 18 years later before
the null results of these experiments were nally explained by
Einstein in terms of a new velocity addition law that bears his
name, that he introduced in his 1905 paper that founded the
special theory of relativity.

[PAGE 2]
The two basic postulates of the resulting special theory of
relativity are
(1) The same laws of electrodynamics and optics will be valid
for all frames of reference for which the equations of
mechanics hold good. (Principle of relativity)
(2) The constancy of the speed of light, according to which
there exists a maximum signal velocity in nature, the velocity of
light in empty space.
[NOW FOR SHORT OF TIME I AM JUMPING TO THE RESULTS OF
SPECIAL RELATIVITY]
TIME DILATION > DOES TIME REALLY RELATIVE?!!
LET US SEE WHAT EINSTEIN SAID!
Consider a simple clock consisting of two mirrors A and B,
between which a light pulse is bouncing. The separation of the
mirrors is L and the clock ticks once each time the light pulse
hits a given mirror.

fig:1

fig:2

In the frame (fig1) where the clock is at rest the light pulse
traces out a path of length 2L and the period of the clock is 2L
divided by the speed of light

(1)

From the frame of reference of a moving observer traveling at the

speed v relative to the rest frame of the clock (fig:2), the light pulse traces
out a longer, angled path. The second postulate of special relativity states
that the speed of light in free space is constant for all inertial observers,
which implies a lengthening of the period of this clock from the moving
observer's perspective. That is to say, in a frame moving relative to the
clock, the clock appears to be running more slowly. Straightforward
application of the Pythagorean theorem leads to the well-known prediction
of special relativity:
The total time for the light pulse to trace its path is given by

The length of the half path can be calculated as a function of known

quantities as

Substituting D from this equation into the previous and solving

for t' gives:

[PAGE 3]

(by 1)

[page 4]

LENGTH CONTRACTION > Like time does length really

contracts??!! <Lets see>

Consider the following setup. Person A stands on a train which

he measures to have length l, and person B stands on the
ground. The train moves at speed v with respect to the ground.
A light source is located at the back of the train, and a mirror is
located at the front. The source emits a ash of light which
heads to the mirror, bounces o, then heads back to the source.
By looking at how long this process takes in the two reference

frames, we can determine the length of the train as measured

by B In As frame (see setup),
The round-trip time for the light is simply

Things are a little more complicated in Bs frame (see Fig.

11.13). Let the length of the train, as measured by B, be For all
we know at this point, ` may equal `0, but well soon nd that it
does not. The relative speed (as measured by B) of the light and
the mirror during the rst part of the trip is cv. The relative
speed during the second part is c + v. During each part, the
light must close a gap with initial length l. Therefore, the total
round-trip time is

But we know from from time dilation

Now two events are happening same place in the train

frame, so its legal to use the time-dilation result in eq.
(11.9). Substituting the results for tA and tB from eqs.

We find-

[page 5]

[page 6]
Since 1, we see that B measures the train to be
shorter than A measures. The term proper length is used
to describe the length of an object in its rest frame. So l
is the proper length of the above train, and the length in
any other frame is less than or equal to l. This length
contraction is often called the Lorentz-FitzGerald
contraction,
----------------------

FOR MORE DETAILS AND FURTHER READINDS:

1. Wikipedia
2. Rafael Feraro-Einstein space time
3. Analytic Hyperbolic Geometry and Albert Einsteins Special Theory of
RelativityAbraham Albert Ungar
4. Introduction to special relativity Robert Resnick