Gary L.

Mathis

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Newtons Third Law in Special Relativity

Introduction
Does Newtons Third Law hold up in Special Relativity? Well, this essay shows that depends.

Analysis
In Special Relativity there are three forces to deal with. These are:   = dp  is the 4-momentum 1. The Minkowski force, defined by K where p d and is the proper time; dp where p = mu is the relativistic 2. The ordinary force, defined by F = dt momentum and t is the laboratory time; dp 3. The Newtonian force, defined by FN = N where p N = mu is the dt classical momentum. The Newtonian force is the force of classical physics. The validity of Newtons Third Law in SR depends on which of these forces are involved.

Minkowski Force
 is the 4-velocity of the CM of a system of particles moving through Suppose V CM  , the total 4spacetime. By analogy with nonrelativistic particles, we define P momentum for the system, to be  = MV  P (1) CM where M is the total mass for all the particles in the system. The above equation means the total momentum of the system is represented by a single point of mass M that is  . Let us now restrict ourselves to a system that contains only moving with velocity V CM two particles. Then  =p  1 + p  2 = ( m1 + m2 ) V P (2) CM

 1, p  2 are the individual 4-momenta of the two particles whose masses are m1 , m2 . where p We now define the following Minkowski forces for this system:  dP  , force associated with the CM K CM = d CM 1  = dp , force on particle 1 K (3) 1 d 1 2  = dp , force on particle 2 K 2 d 2

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Gary L. Mathis

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1 , 2 are the proper times associated with the particles, CM is the proper time at the   ,K  are the center of mass. K is the Minkowski force associated with the CM and K
CM

Minkowski forces acting on the individual particles in the system. Recall, in the nonrelativistic theory of system of particles the Newtonian force associated with the CM gives the total force acting on the system. However, the statement below shows this is not the case for the Minkowski force. Statement 1:: the Minkowski force associated with the CM of a system does not represent the total force acting on the system. -Check:  1 2 dP d dp dp  1 + p 2) = K = + (p CM = d CM d CM d CM d CM  1 dp   +K  = dp  but K + 2 K CM 1 2 (4) d 1 d 2
because 1 1 2 2 dp dp dp dp and d 1 d CM d 2 d CM The failure of the Minkowski force associated with the CM to represent the total Minkowski force for all the particles is due to the fact that there does not exist a universal time for a system of particles; i.e., in general d CM d 1 d 2 because each particle has its own proper time interval as does the CM. In nonrelativistic theory, if the force associated with the center of mass is zero then the forces that act between the particles obeys Newtons third law. As we see this is not the case in Special Relativity. Statement 2:: the Minkowski force does not obey Newtons third law of motion.  is constant. -Check: show what happens if P CM  dP CM  K CM = d CM  if P   is constant K =0
CM CM

but

   K CM K 1 + K 2 , from above  if K   +K  0  K 1 2 CM = 0  K  K
1 2

(5)

Again, the failure of Newtons third law vis--vis the Minkowski force is due to the absence of a universal proper time that applies the same to all the particles in a system.

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Gary L. Mathis

All rights reserved

Ordinary Force
Statement 3:: Newtons third law is obeyed by the ordinary force of Special Relativity, dp F= , where p = mu is the spatial part of the 4-momentum vector (u is the dt nonrelativistic particle velocity). -Check: to prove this we use the conservation of relativistic momentum for two particles and set the total ordinary force to zero so the only forces acting are those between the particles. P = p1 + p 2 , conservation of relativistic momentum
dP dp1 dp 2 = + dt dt dt F = F1 + F2 , F = total ordinary force on the system F1 + F2 = 0 if F = 0 F1 = F2

Note the relativistic momentum is based on the laboratory time, t, which is the same for all the particles as observed from S; however, the relativistic force is not Lorentz invariant as is the Minkowski force; i.e., we cannot compute the relativistic force in S by performing a Lorentz transform on the force in S.

Newtonian Force
Statement 4:: Newons third law is not obeyed by the classical Newtonian force. -Check: let F be the ordinary force of special relativity and FN be the classical Newtonian force. F1 = F2 , from above
but 3 F = FN + 2 u ( u FN ) "ordinary" force in SR c 3 3 2 u u F F u 2 ( u 2 F2 N ) 1F1N + 1 = + 2 2N 1N ) 2 1( 1 2 c c F1N F2 N because, in general, u1 u 2 Note: if u1 , u2 << c then 1 , 2 1 and F1N F2 N in the nonrelativistic limit.

(6)

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