Special Relativity Ellie Kahler Common sense is the

Special Relativity Ellie Kahler “Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen. ” –Albert Einstein

Overview • History of development / foundational ideas • Fundamental equations • Examples • Simultaneity • Time dilation • Length contraction • Additional ideas • Modern application • Questions for your personal enrichment and educational success

History of Special Relativity • Newtonian mechanics • Galilean Relativity • The concept of the ether • The Michelson-Morley Experiment • Einstein’s proposition

Newtonian Mechanics and Galilean Relativity •

Luminiferous Ether and the Michelson-Morley Experiment •

Einstein’s Postulates 1. All the laws of physics are unchanging across inertial reference frames. 2. The speed of light is a constant in all inertial reference frames regardless of the velocity of either the source or the observer. (Where c = 3. 00 x 10^8 m/s)

Lorentz Transformations •

Examples • Running with a rod • Muons • Grandma takes a trip

Simultaneity

Time Dilation •

Length Contraction •

Examples • Running with a rod • Muons • Grandma takes a trip

Additional Points (brief overview) •

Application Example Satellites and GPS systems

Potential Test Questions • Grandma is taking a flight around the world in a jet flying at Mach 3. You are watching her anxiously from your perch on top of Wenatchi Hall. On the clock in your hands, you measure her trip to be 11. 5 hours. From Grandma’s inertial reference frame, how long does the trip take her? • You watch a cat whiz by at. 75 c chasing a dog travelling at. 79 c. To the dog, how fast is the cat moving?

Bibliography Einstein, Albert. Relativity. New York: Crown, 1961. Print. Greene, Brian R. The Fabric of the Cosmos. New York: Vintage, 2005. Print. Jaffe, Bernard. Michelson and the Speed of Light. New York: Anchor Doubleday &, 1960. Print. Serway, Raymond A. , and John W. Jewett, Jr. Physics for Scientists and Engineers with Modern Physics. 7 th ed. Belmont: Cengage Learning, 2008. Print. "Modern Physics. " Trains and Twins. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 June 2017. http: //galileo. phys. virginia. edu/classes/252/srel_twins. html "Special Relativity -- from Eric Weisstein's World of Physics. " Scienceworld. wolfram. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 June 2017. http: //scienceworld. wolfram. com/physics/Special. Relativity. html "Real-World Relativity: The GPS Navigation System. " GPS and Relativity. N. p. , n. d. Web. 09 June 2017. http: //www. astronomy. ohiostate. edu/~pogge/Ast 162/Unit 5/gps. html Interferometer picture: http: //www. schoolphysics. co. uk/age 16 -19/Astrophysics/text/Michelson_Morley/images/1. png Spaceship picture http: //www. space. com/images/i/000/003/297/original/080326 -lynx-flying-02. jpg Train picture https: //www. physicsforums. com/attachments/relativbity-lightning-train-bmp. 13880/