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15TheSpecialTheoryofRelativity

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151Theprincipleofrelativity

contactus

Forover200yearstheequationsofmotionenunciatedbyNewtonwerebelievedto
describenaturecorrectly,andthefirsttimethatanerrorintheselawswasdiscovered,
thewaytocorrectitwasalsodiscovered.Boththeerroranditscorrectionwere
discoveredbyEinsteinin1905.

AA

moreinfo.

NewtonsSecondLaw,whichwehaveexpressedbytheequation
F = d(mv)/dt,

wasstatedwiththetacitassumptionthatm isaconstant,butwenowknowthatthisisnottrue,and
thatthemassofabodyincreaseswithvelocity.InEinsteinscorrectedformulam hasthevalue
m =

m0

2
2
1 v /c

(15.1)

wheretherestmassm representsthemassofabodythatisnotmovingandcisthespeedoflight,
whichisabout3 10 km sec orabout186,000 mi sec .
0

Forthosewhowanttolearnjustenoughaboutitsotheycansolveproblems,thatisallthereistothe
theoryofrelativityitjustchangesNewtonslawsbyintroducingacorrectionfactortothemass.
Fromtheformulaitselfitiseasytoseethatthismassincreaseisverysmallinordinarycircumstances.
Ifthevelocityisevenasgreatasthatofasatellite,whichgoesaroundtheearthat5mi/sec,then
v/c = 5/186,000:puttingthisvalueintotheformulashowsthatthecorrectiontothemassisonly
onepartintwotothreebillion,whichisnearlyimpossibletoobserve.Actually,thecorrectnessofthe
formulahasbeenamplyconfirmedbytheobservationofmanykindsofparticles,movingatspeeds
ranginguptopracticallythespeedoflight.However,becausetheeffectisordinarilysosmall,it
seemsremarkablethatitwasdiscoveredtheoreticallybeforeitwasdiscoveredexperimentally.
Empirically,atasufficientlyhighvelocity,theeffectisverylarge,butitwasnotdiscoveredthatway.
Thereforeitisinterestingtoseehowalawthatinvolvedsodelicateamodification(atthetimewhen
itwasfirstdiscovered)wasbroughttolightbyacombinationofexperimentsandphysicalreasoning.
Contributionstothediscoveryweremadebyanumberofpeople,thefinalresultofwhoseworkwas
Einsteinsdiscovery.
TherearereallytwoEinsteintheoriesofrelativity.ThischapterisconcernedwiththeSpecialTheory
ofRelativity,whichdatesfrom1905.In1915Einsteinpublishedanadditionaltheory,calledthe
GeneralTheoryofRelativity.ThislattertheorydealswiththeextensionoftheSpecialTheorytothe
caseofthelawofgravitationweshallnotdiscusstheGeneralTheoryhere.
TheprincipleofrelativitywasfirststatedbyNewton,inoneofhiscorollariestothelawsofmotion:
Themotionsofbodiesincludedinagivenspacearethesameamongthemselves,whetherthatspace
isatrestormovesuniformlyforwardinastraightline.Thismeans,forexample,thatifaspaceship
isdriftingalongatauniformspeed,allexperimentsperformedinthespaceshipandallthe
phenomenainthespaceshipwillappearthesameasiftheshipwerenotmoving,provided,ofcourse,
thatonedoesnotlookoutside.Thatisthemeaningoftheprincipleofrelativity.Thisisasimple
enoughidea,andtheonlyquestioniswhetheritistruethatinallexperimentsperformedinsidea
movingsystemthelawsofphysicswillappearthesameastheywouldifthesystemwerestanding
still.LetusfirstinvestigatewhetherNewtonslawsappearthesameinthemovingsystem.
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Fig.151.Twocoordinatesystemsinuniformrelativemotionalongtheirx axes.
SupposethatMoeismovinginthex directionwithauniformvelocityu ,andhemeasuresthe
positionofacertainpoint,showninFig.151.Hedesignatesthex distanceofthepointinhis
coordinatesystemasx .Joeisatrest,andmeasuresthepositionofthesamepoint,designatingitsx
coordinateinhissystemasx .Therelationshipofthecoordinatesinthetwosystemsisclearfromthe
diagram.Aftertimet Moesoriginhasmovedadistanceut ,andifthetwosystemsoriginally
coincided,

x
y
z

= x ut,
= y,

(15.2)

= z,
= t.

IfwesubstitutethistransformationofcoordinatesintoNewtonslawswefindthattheselaws
transformtothesamelawsintheprimedsystemthatis,thelawsofNewtonareofthesameformina
movingsystemasinastationarysystem,andthereforeitisimpossibletotell,bymakingmechanical
experiments,whetherthesystemismovingornot.
Theprincipleofrelativityhasbeenusedinmechanicsforalongtime.Itwasemployedbyvarious
people,inparticularHuygens,toobtaintherulesforthecollisionofbilliardballs,inmuchthesame
wayasweuseditinChapter10todiscusstheconservationofmomentum.Inthe19thcenturyinterest
initwasheightenedastheresultofinvestigationsintothephenomenaofelectricity,magnetism,and
light.AlongseriesofcarefulstudiesofthesephenomenabymanypeopleculminatedinMaxwells
equationsoftheelectromagneticfield,whichdescribeelectricity,magnetism,andlightinoneuniform
system.However,theMaxwellequationsdidnotseemtoobeytheprincipleofrelativity.Thatis,if
wetransformMaxwellsequationsbythesubstitutionofequations(15.2),theirformdoesnotremain
thesametherefore,inamovingspaceshiptheelectricalandopticalphenomenashouldbedifferent
fromthoseinastationaryship.Thusonecouldusetheseopticalphenomenatodeterminethespeedof
theshipinparticular,onecoulddeterminetheabsolutespeedoftheshipbymakingsuitableoptical
orelectricalmeasurements.OneoftheconsequencesofMaxwellsequationsisthatifthereisa
disturbanceinthefieldsuchthatlightisgenerated,theseelectromagneticwavesgooutinall
directionsequallyandatthesamespeedc,or186,000 mi/sec.Anotherconsequenceoftheequations
isthatifthesourceofthedisturbanceismoving,thelightemittedgoesthroughspaceatthesame
speedc.Thisisanalogoustothecaseofsound,thespeedofsoundwavesbeinglikewiseindependent
ofthemotionofthesource.
Thisindependenceofthemotionofthesource,inthecaseoflight,bringsupaninterestingproblem:
Supposeweareridinginacarthatisgoingataspeedu ,andlightfromtherearisgoingpastthecar
withspeedc.Differentiatingthefirstequationin(15.2)gives

dx /dt = dx/dt u,

whichmeansthataccordingtotheGalileantransformationtheapparentspeedofthepassinglight,as
wemeasureitinthecar,shouldnotbecbutshouldbec u .Forinstance,ifthecarisgoing
100,000
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100,000 mi/sec,andthelightisgoing186,000 mi/sec,thenapparentlythelightgoingpastthecar

shouldgo86,000 mi/sec.Inanycase,bymeasuringthespeedofthelightgoingpastthecar(ifthe
Galileantransformationiscorrectforlight),onecoulddeterminethespeedofthecar.Anumberof
experimentsbasedonthisgeneralideawereperformedtodeterminethevelocityoftheearth,butthey
allfailedtheygavenovelocityatall.Weshalldiscussoneoftheseexperimentsindetail,toshow
exactlywhatwasdoneandwhatwasthemattersomethingwasthematter,ofcourse,somethingwas
wrongwiththeequationsofphysics.Whatcoulditbe?

152TheLorentztransformation
Whenthefailureoftheequationsofphysicsintheabovecasecametolight,thefirstthoughtthat
occurredwasthatthetroublemustlieinthenewMaxwellequationsofelectrodynamics,whichwere
only20yearsoldatthetime.Itseemedalmostobviousthattheseequationsmustbewrong,sothe
thingtodowastochangetheminsuchawaythatundertheGalileantransformationtheprincipleof
relativitywouldbesatisfied.Whenthiswastried,thenewtermsthathadtobeputintotheequations
ledtopredictionsofnewelectricalphenomenathatdidnotexistatallwhentestedexperimentally,so
thisattempthadtobeabandoned.ThenitgraduallybecameapparentthatMaxwellslawsof
electrodynamicswerecorrect,andthetroublemustbesoughtelsewhere.
Inthemeantime,H.A.Lorentznoticedaremarkableandcuriousthingwhenhemadethefollowing
substitutionsintheMaxwellequations:

x ut
=

2
2
1 u /c

= y,
(15.3)

= z,
t ux/c
=

2
2
1 u /c

namely,Maxwellsequationsremaininthesameformwhenthistransformationisappliedtothem!
Equations(15.3)areknownasaLorentztransformation.Einstein,followingasuggestionoriginally
madebyPoincar,thenproposedthatallthephysicallawsshouldbeofsuchakindthattheyremain
unchangedunderaLorentztransformation.Inotherwords,weshouldchange,notthelawsof
electrodynamics,butthelawsofmechanics.HowshallwechangeNewtonslawssothattheywill
remainunchangedbytheLorentztransformation?Ifthisgoalisset,wethenhavetorewriteNewtons
equationsinsuchawaythattheconditionswehaveimposedaresatisfied.Asitturnedout,theonly
requirementisthatthemassm inNewtonsequationsmustbereplacedbytheformshownin
Eq.(15.1).Whenthischangeismade,Newtonslawsandthelawsofelectrodynamicswill
harmonize.ThenifweusetheLorentztransformationincomparingMoesmeasurementswithJoes,
weshallneverbeabletodetectwhethereitherismoving,becausetheformofalltheequationswillbe
thesameinbothcoordinatesystems!
Itisinterestingtodiscusswhatitmeansthatwereplacetheoldtransformationbetweenthe
coordinatesandtimewithanewone,becausetheoldone(Galilean)seemstobeselfevident,andthe
newone(Lorentz)lookspeculiar.Wewishtoknowwhetheritislogicallyandexperimentally
possiblethatthenew,andnottheold,transformationcanbecorrect.Tofindthatout,itisnotenough
tostudythelawsofmechanicsbut,asEinsteindid,wetoomustanalyzeourideasofspaceandtime
inordertounderstandthistransformation.Weshallhavetodiscusstheseideasandtheirimplications
formechanicsatsomelength,sowesayinadvancethattheeffortwillbejustified,sincetheresults
agreewithexperiment.
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153TheMichelsonMorleyexperiment
Asmentionedabove,attemptsweremadetodeterminetheabsolutevelocityoftheearththroughthe
hypotheticaletherthatwassupposedtopervadeallspace.Themostfamousoftheseexperimentsis
oneperformedbyMichelsonandMorleyin1887.Itwas18yearslaterbeforethenegativeresultsof
theexperimentwerefinallyexplained,byEinstein.

Fig.152.SchematicdiagramoftheMichelsonMorleyexperiment.
TheMichelsonMorleyexperimentwasperformedwithanapparatuslikethatshownschematicallyin
Fig.152.ThisapparatusisessentiallycomprisedofalightsourceA ,apartiallysilveredglassplate
B ,andtwomirrorsC andE ,allmountedonarigidbase.Themirrorsareplacedatequaldistances
L fromB .TheplateB splitsanoncomingbeamoflight,andthetworesultingbeamscontinuein
mutuallyperpendiculardirectionstothemirrors,wheretheyarereflectedbacktoB .Onarrivingback
atB ,thetwobeamsarerecombinedastwosuperposedbeams,D andF .Ifthetimetakenforthe
lighttogofromB toE andbackisthesameasthetimefromB toC andback,theemergingbeams
D andF willbeinphaseandwillreinforceeachother,butifthetwotimesdifferslightly,thebeams
willbeslightlyoutofphaseandinterferencewillresult.Iftheapparatusisatrestintheether,the
timesshouldbepreciselyequal,butifitismovingtowardtherightwithavelocityu ,thereshouldbe
adifferenceinthetimes.Letusseewhy.
First,letuscalculatethetimerequiredforthelighttogofromB toE andback.Letussaythatthe
timeforlighttogofromplateB tomirrorE ist ,andthetimeforthereturnist .Now,whilethe
lightisonitswayfromB tothemirror,theapparatusmovesadistanceut ,sothelightmusttraverse
adistanceL + ut ,atthespeedc.Wecanalsoexpressthisdistanceasct ,sowehave
1

ct1 = L + ut1 ,

or

t1 = L/(c u).

(Thisresultisalsoobviousfromthepointofviewthatthevelocityoflightrelativetotheapparatusis
c u ,sothetimeisthelengthL dividedbyc u .)Inalikemanner,thetimet canbecalculated.
DuringthistimetheplateB advancesadistanceut ,sothereturndistanceofthelightisL ut .
Thenwehave
2

ct2 = L ut2 ,

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t2 = L/(c + u).

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Thenthetotaltimeis
t1 + t2 = 2Lc/(c

u ).

Forconvenienceinlatercomparisonoftimeswewritethisas
2L/c
t1 + t2 =

1 u /c

(15.4)

Oursecondcalculationwillbeofthetimet forthelighttogofromB tothemirrorC .Asbefore,

duringtimet themirrorC movestotherightadistanceut tothepositionC inthesametime,
thelighttravelsadistancect alongthehypotenuseofatriangle,whichisBC .Forthisright
trianglewehave
3

(ct3 )

= L

+ (ut3 )

or
2

= c t

u t

= (c

u )t ,
3

fromwhichweget

2
2
t3 = L/ c u .

ForthereturntripfromC thedistanceisthesame,ascanbeseenfromthesymmetryofthefigure
thereforethereturntimeisalsothesame,andthetotaltimeis2t .Withalittlerearrangementofthe
formwecanwrite

2L/c
=
.

2
2
c 2 u2
1 u /c
2L

2t3 =

(15.5)

Wearenowabletocomparethetimestakenbythetwobeamsoflight.Inexpressions(15.4)
and(15.5)thenumeratorsareidentical,andrepresentthetimethatwouldbetakeniftheapparatus
wereatrest.Inthedenominators,thetermu /c willbesmall,unlessu iscomparableinsizetoc.
Thedenominatorsrepresentthemodificationsinthetimescausedbythemotionoftheapparatus.And
behold,thesemodificationsarenotthesamethetimetogotoC andbackisalittlelessthanthe
timetoE andback,eventhoughthemirrorsareequidistantfromB ,andallwehavetodoisto
measurethatdifferencewithprecision.
2

HereaminortechnicalpointarisessupposethetwolengthsL arenotexactlyequal?Infact,we
surelycannotmakethemexactlyequal.Inthatcasewesimplyturntheapparatus90degrees,sothat
BC isinthelineofmotionandBE isperpendiculartothemotion.Anysmalldifferenceinlength
thenbecomesunimportant,andwhatwelookforisashiftintheinterferencefringeswhenwerotate
theapparatus.
Incarryingouttheexperiment,MichelsonandMorleyorientedtheapparatussothatthelineBEwas
nearlyparalleltotheearthsmotioninitsorbit(atcertaintimesofthedayandnight).Thisorbital
speedisabout18milespersecond,andanyetherdriftshouldbeatleastthatmuchatsometimeof
thedayornightandatsometimeduringtheyear.Theapparatuswasamplysensitivetoobservesuch
aneffect,butnotimedifferencewasfoundthevelocityoftheearththroughtheethercouldnotbe
detected.Theresultoftheexperimentwasnull.
TheresultoftheMichelsonMorleyexperimentwasverypuzzlingandmostdisturbing.Thefirst
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fruitfulideaforfindingawayoutoftheimpassecamefromLorentz.Hesuggestedthatmaterial
bodiescontractwhentheyaremoving,andthatthisforeshorteningisonlyinthedirectionofthe
motion,andalso,thatifthelengthisL whenabodyisatrest,thenwhenitmoveswithspeedu
paralleltoitslength,thenewlength,whichwecallL (L parallel),isgivenby
0

L = L0 1 u /c .

(15.6)

WhenthismodificationisappliedtotheMichelsonMorleyinterferometerapparatusthedistancefrom

B toC doesnotchange,butthedistancefromB toE isshortenedtoL1 u /c .Therefore

Eq.(15.5)isnotchanged,buttheL ofEq.(15.4)mustbechangedinaccordancewithEq.(15.6).
Whenthisisdoneweobtain
2

2
2
(2L/c)1 u /c
t1 + t2 =

1 u /c

2L/c
=

2
2
1 u /c

(15.7)

ComparingthisresultwithEq.(15.5),weseethatt + t = 2t .Soiftheapparatusshrinksinthe
mannerjustdescribed,wehaveawayofunderstandingwhytheMichelsonMorleyexperimentgives
noeffectatall.Althoughthecontractionhypothesissuccessfullyaccountedforthenegativeresultof
theexperiment,itwasopentotheobjectionthatitwasinventedfortheexpresspurposeofexplaining
awaythedifficulty,andwastooartificial.However,inmanyotherexperimentstodiscoveranether
wind,similardifficultiesarose,untilitappearedthatnaturewasinaconspiracytothwartmanby
introducingsomenewphenomenontoundoeveryphenomenonthathethoughtwouldpermita
measurementofu .
1

Itwasultimatelyrecognized,asPoincarpointedout,thatacompleteconspiracyisitselfalawof
nature!Poincarthenproposedthatthereissuchalawofnature,thatitisnotpossibletodiscoveran
etherwindbyanyexperimentthatis,thereisnowaytodetermineanabsolutevelocity.

154Transformationoftime
Incheckingoutwhetherthecontractionideaisinharmonywiththefactsinotherexperiments,itturns
outthateverythingiscorrectprovidedthatthetimesarealsomodified,inthemannerexpressedinthe
fourthequationoftheset(15.3).Thatisbecausethetimet ,calculatedforthetripfromB toC and
back,isnotthesamewhencalculatedbyamanperformingtheexperimentinamovingspaceshipas
whencalculatedbyastationaryobserverwhoiswatchingthespaceship.Tothemanintheshipthe

timeissimply2L/c,buttotheotherobserveritis(2L/c)/1 u /c (Eq.15.5).Inotherwords,
whentheoutsiderseesthemaninthespaceshiplightingacigar,alltheactionsappeartobeslower
thannormal,whiletothemaninside,everythingmovesatanormalrate.Sonotonlymustthelengths
shorten,butalsothetimemeasuringinstruments(clocks)mustapparentlyslowdown.Thatis,when
theclockinthespaceshiprecords1secondelapsed,asseenbythemanintheship,itshows

1/1 u /c secondtothemanoutside.
3

Thisslowingoftheclocksinamovingsystemisaverypeculiarphenomenon,andisworthan
explanation.Inordertounderstandthis,wehavetowatchthemachineryoftheclockandseewhat
happenswhenitismoving.Sincethatisratherdifficult,weshalltakeaverysimplekindofclock.
Theonewechooseisratherasillykindofclock,butitwillworkinprinciple:itisarod(meterstick)
withamirrorateachend,andwhenwestartalightsignalbetweenthemirrors,thelightkeepsgoing
upanddown,makingaclickeverytimeitcomesdown,likeastandardtickingclock.Webuildtwo
suchclocks,withexactlythesamelengths,andsynchronizethembystartingthemtogetherthenthey
agreealwaysthereafter,becausetheyarethesameinlength,andlightalwaystravelswithspeedc.
Wegiveoneoftheseclockstothemantotakealonginhisspaceship,andhemountstherod
perpendiculartothedirectionofmotionoftheshipthenthelengthoftherodwillnotchange.How
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doweknowthatperpendicularlengthsdonotchange?Themencanagreetomakemarksoneach
othersymeterstickastheypasseachother.Bysymmetry,thetwomarksmustcomeatthesamey
andy coordinates,sinceotherwise,whentheygettogethertocompareresults,onemarkwillbe
aboveorbelowtheother,andsowecouldtellwhowasreallymoving.

Fig.153.(a)AlightclockatrestintheS system.(b)Thesameclock,movingthroughthe
S system.(c)Illustrationofthediagonalpathtakenbythelightbeaminamovinglightclock.
Nowletusseewhathappenstothemovingclock.Beforethemantookitaboard,heagreedthatitwas
anice,standardclock,andwhenhegoesalonginthespaceshiphewillnotseeanythingpeculiar.If
hedid,hewouldknowhewasmovingifanythingatallchangedbecauseofthemotion,hecould
tellhewasmoving.Buttheprincipleofrelativitysaysthisisimpossibleinauniformlymoving
system,sonothinghaschanged.Ontheotherhand,whentheexternalobserverlooksattheclock
goingby,heseesthatthelight,ingoingfrommirrortomirror,isreallytakingazigzagpath,since
therodismovingsidewiseallthewhile.Wehavealreadyanalyzedsuchazigzagmotionin
connectionwiththeMichelsonMorleyexperiment.Ifinagiventimetherodmovesforwarda
distanceproportionaltou inFig.153,thedistancethelighttravelsinthesametimeisproportional

toc,andtheverticaldistanceisthereforeproportionaltoc u .
2

Thatis,ittakesalongertimeforlighttogofromendtoendinthemovingclockthaninthestationary
clock.Thereforetheapparenttimebetweenclicksislongerforthemovingclock,inthesame
proportionasshowninthehypotenuseofthetriangle(thatisthesourceofthesquarerootexpressions
inourequations).Fromthefigureitisalsoapparentthatthegreateru is,themoreslowlythemoving
clockappearstorun.Notonlydoesthisparticularkindofclockrunmoreslowly,butifthetheoryof
relativityiscorrect,anyotherclock,operatingonanyprinciplewhatsoever,wouldalsoappeartorun
slower,andinthesameproportionwecansaythiswithoutfurtheranalysis.Whyisthisso?
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Toanswertheabovequestion,supposewehadtwootherclocksmadeexactlyalikewithwheelsand
gears,orperhapsbasedonradioactivedecay,orsomethingelse.Thenweadjusttheseclockssothey
bothruninprecisesynchronismwithourfirstclocks.Whenlightgoesupandbackinthefirstclocks
andannouncesitsarrivalwithaclick,thenewmodelsalsocompletesomesortofcycle,whichthey
simultaneouslyannouncebysomedoublycoincidentflash,orbong,orothersignal.Oneofthese
clocksistakenintothespaceship,alongwiththefirstkind.Perhapsthisclockwillnotrunslower,but
willcontinuetokeepthesametimeasitsstationarycounterpart,andthusdisagreewiththeother
movingclock.Ahno,ifthatshouldhappen,themanintheshipcouldusethismismatchbetweenhis
twoclockstodeterminethespeedofhisship,whichwehavebeensupposingisimpossible.Weneed
notknowanythingaboutthemachineryofthenewclockthatmightcausetheeffectwesimply
knowthatwhateverthereason,itwillappeartorunslow,justlikethefirstone.
Nowifallmovingclocksrunslower,ifnowayofmeasuringtimegivesanythingbutaslowerrate,
weshalljusthavetosay,inacertainsense,thattimeitselfappearstobeslowerinaspaceship.All
thephenomenatherethemanspulserate,histhoughtprocesses,thetimehetakestolightacigar,
howlongittakestogrowupandgetoldallthesethingsmustbesloweddowninthesame
proportion,becausehecannottellheismoving.Thebiologistsandmedicalmensometimessayitis
notquitecertainthatthetimeittakesforacancertodevelopwillbelongerinaspaceship,butfrom
theviewpointofamodernphysicistitisnearlycertainotherwiseonecouldusetherateofcancer
developmenttodeterminethespeedoftheship!
Averyinterestingexampleoftheslowingoftimewithmotionisfurnishedbymumesons(muons),
whichareparticlesthatdisintegratespontaneouslyafteranaveragelifetimeof2.2 10 sec.They
cometotheearthincosmicrays,andcanalsobeproducedartificiallyinthelaboratory.Someofthem
disintegrateinmidair,buttheremainderdisintegrateonlyaftertheyencounterapieceofmaterialand
stop.Itisclearthatinitsshortlifetimeamuoncannottravel,evenatthespeedoflight,muchmore
than600meters.Butalthoughthemuonsarecreatedatthetopoftheatmosphere,some
10kilometersup,yettheyareactuallyfoundinalaboratorydownhere,incosmicrays.Howcanthat
be?Theansweristhatdifferentmuonsmoveatvariousspeeds,someofwhichareveryclosetothe
speedoflight.Whilefromtheirownpointofviewtheyliveonlyabout2sec,fromourpointof
viewtheyliveconsiderablylongerenoughlongerthattheymayreachtheearth.Thefactorbywhich

thetimeisincreasedhasalreadybeengivenas1/1 u /c .Theaveragelifehasbeenmeasured
quiteaccuratelyformuonsofdifferentvelocities,andthevaluesagreecloselywiththeformula.
6

Wedonotknowwhythemesondisintegratesorwhatitsmachineryis,butwedoknowitsbehavior
satisfiestheprincipleofrelativity.Thatistheutilityoftheprincipleofrelativityitpermitsusto
makepredictions,evenaboutthingsthatotherwisewedonotknowmuchabout.Forexample,before
wehaveanyideaatallaboutwhatmakesthemesondisintegrate,wecanstillpredictthatwhenitis
movingatninetenthsofthespeedoflight,theapparentlengthoftimethatitlastsis
(2.2 10

)/1 9 /10

secandourpredictionworksthatisthegoodthingaboutit.

155TheLorentzcontraction
NowletusreturntotheLorentztransformation(15.3)andtrytogetabetterunderstandingofthe
relationshipbetweenthe(x, y, z, t) andthe(x , y , z , t ) coordinatesystems,whichweshallcall
theS andS systems,orJoeandMoesystems,respectively.Wehavealreadynotedthatthefirst
equationisbasedontheLorentzsuggestionofcontractionalongthex directionhowcanweprove
thatacontractiontakesplace?IntheMichelsonMorleyexperiment,wenowappreciatethatthe
transversearmBC cannotchangelength,bytheprincipleofrelativityyetthenullresultofthe
experimentdemandsthatthetimesmustbeequal.So,inorderfortheexperimenttogiveanullresult,

thelongitudinalarmBEmustappearshorter,bythesquareroot1 u /c .Whatdoesthis
contractionmean,intermsofmeasurementsmadebyJoeandMoe?SupposethatMoe,movingwith

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theS systeminthex direction,ismeasuringthex coordinateofsomepointwithameterstick.He

laysthestickdownx times,sohethinksthedistanceisx meters.FromtheviewpointofJoeinthe
S system,however,Moeisusingaforeshortenedruler,sotherealdistancemeasuredis

x 1 u /c meters.TheniftheS systemhastravelledadistanceut awayfromtheS system,

theS observerwouldsaythatthesamepoint,measuredinhiscoordinates,isatadistance

x = x 1 u /c + ut ,or

x ut

2
2
1 u /c

whichisthefirstequationoftheLorentztransformation.

156Simultaneity
Inananalogousway,becauseofthedifferenceintimescales,thedenominatorexpressionis
introducedintothefourthequationoftheLorentztransformation.Themostinterestingterminthat
equationistheux/c inthenumerator,becausethatisquitenewandunexpected.Nowwhatdoes
thatmean?Ifwelookatthesituationcarefullyweseethateventsthatoccurattwoseparatedplacesat
thesametime,asseenbyMoeinS ,donothappenatthesametimeasviewedbyJoeinS .Ifone
eventoccursatpointx attimet andtheothereventatx andt (thesametime),wefindthatthe
twocorrespondingtimest andt differbyanamount
2

u(x1 x2 )/c

2
2
1 u /c

Thiscircumstanceiscalledfailureofsimultaneityatadistance,andtomaketheideaalittleclearer
letusconsiderthefollowingexperiment.
Supposethatamanmovinginaspaceship(systemS )hasplacedaclockateachendoftheshipand
isinterestedinmakingsurethatthetwoclocksareinsynchronism.Howcantheclocksbe
synchronized?Therearemanyways.Oneway,involvingverylittlecalculation,wouldbefirstto
locateexactlythemidpointbetweentheclocks.Thenfromthisstationwesendoutalightsignal
whichwillgobothwaysatthesamespeedandwillarriveatbothclocks,clearly,atthesametime.
Thissimultaneousarrivalofthesignalscanbeusedtosynchronizetheclocks.Letusthensuppose
thatthemaninS synchronizeshisclocksbythisparticularmethod.Letusseewhetheranobserver
insystemS wouldagreethatthetwoclocksaresynchronous.ThemaninS hasarighttobelieve
theyare,becausehedoesnotknowthatheismoving.ButthemaninS reasonsthatsincetheshipis
movingforward,theclockinthefrontendwasrunningawayfromthelightsignal,hencethelighthad
togomorethanhalfwayinordertocatchuptherearclock,however,wasadvancingtomeetthelight
signal,sothisdistancewasshorter.Thereforethesignalreachedtherearclockfirst,althoughtheman
inS thoughtthatthesignalsarrivedsimultaneously.Wethusseethatwhenamaninaspaceship
thinksthetimesattwolocationsaresimultaneous,equalvaluesoft inhiscoordinatesystemmust
correspondtodifferentvaluesoft intheothercoordinatesystem!

157Fourvectors
LetusseewhatelsewecandiscoverintheLorentztransformation.Itisinterestingtonotethatthe
transformationbetweenthex sandt sisanalogousinformtothetransformationofthex sandys
thatwestudiedinChapter11forarotationofcoordinates.Wethenhad

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x = xcos + y sin ,
(15.8)

y = y cos xsin ,

inwhichthenewx mixestheoldx andy,andthenewy alsomixestheoldx andysimilarly,in

theLorentztransformationwefindanewx whichisamixtureofx andt ,andanewt whichisa
mixtureoft andx .SotheLorentztransformationisanalogoustoarotation,onlyitisarotationin
spaceandtime,whichappearstobeastrangeconcept.Acheckoftheanalogytorotationcanbe
madebycalculatingthequantity

+ y

+ z

c t

= x

+ y

+ z

c t .

(15.9)

Inthisequationthefirstthreetermsoneachsiderepresent,inthreedimensionalgeometry,thesquare
ofthedistancebetweenapointandtheorigin(surfaceofasphere)whichremainsunchanged
(invariant)regardlessofrotationofthecoordinateaxes.Similarly,Eq.(15.9)showsthatthereisa
certaincombinationwhichincludestime,thatisinvarianttoaLorentztransformation.Thus,the
analogytoarotationiscomplete,andisofsuchakindthatvectors,i.e.,quantitiesinvolving
componentswhichtransformthesamewayasthecoordinatesandtime,arealsousefulin
connectionwithrelativity.
Thuswecontemplateanextensionoftheideaofvectors,whichwehavesofarconsideredtohave
onlyspacecomponents,toincludeatimecomponent.Thatis,weexpectthattherewillbevectors
withfourcomponents,threeofwhicharelikethecomponentsofanordinaryvector,andwiththese
willbeassociatedafourthcomponent,whichistheanalogofthetimepart.
Thisconceptwillbeanalyzedfurtherinthenextchapters,whereweshallfindthatiftheideasofthe
precedingparagraphareappliedtomomentum,thetransformationgivesthreespacepartsthatarelike
ordinarymomentumcomponents,andafourthcomponent,thetimepart,whichistheenergy.

158Relativisticdynamics
Wearenowreadytoinvestigate,moregenerally,whatformthelawsofmechanicstakeunderthe
Lorentztransformation.[Wehavethusfarexplainedhowlengthandtimechange,butnothowweget
themodifiedformulaform (Eq.15.1).Weshalldothisinthenextchapter.]Toseetheconsequences
ofEinsteinsmodificationofm forNewtonianmechanics,westartwiththeNewtonianlawthatforce
istherateofchangeofmomentum,or
F = d(mv)/dt.

Momentumisstillgivenbymv,butwhenweusethenewm thisbecomes
p = mv =

m0 v

2
2
1 v /c

(15.10)

ThisisEinsteinsmodificationofNewtonslaws.Underthismodification,ifactionandreactionare
stillequal(whichtheymaynotbeindetail,butareinthelongrun),therewillbeconservationof
momentuminthesamewayasbefore,butthequantitythatisbeingconservedisnottheoldmvwith
itsconstantmass,butinsteadisthequantityshownin(15.10),whichhasthemodifiedmass.When
thischangeismadeintheformulaformomentum,conservationofmomentumstillworks.
Nowletusseehowmomentumvarieswithspeed.InNewtonianmechanicsitisproportionaltothe
speedand,according(15.10),overaconsiderablerangeofspeed,butsmallcomparedwithc,itis
nearlythesameinrelativisticmechanics,becausethesquarerootexpressiondiffersonlyslightly
from1.Butwhenvisalmostequaltoc,thesquarerootexpressionapproacheszero,andthe
momentumthereforegoestowardinfinity.
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Whathappensifaconstantforceactsonabodyforalongtime?InNewtonianmechanicsthebody
keepspickingupspeeduntilitgoesfasterthanlight.Butthisisimpossibleinrelativisticmechanics.
Inrelativity,thebodykeepspickingup,notspeed,butmomentum,whichcancontinuallyincrease
becausethemassisincreasing.Afterawhilethereispracticallynoaccelerationinthesenseofa
changeofvelocity,butthemomentumcontinuestoincrease.Ofcourse,wheneveraforceproduces
verylittlechangeinthevelocityofabody,wesaythatthebodyhasagreatdealofinertia,andthatis
exactlywhatourformulaforrelativisticmasssays(seeEq.15.10)itsaysthattheinertiaisvery
greatwhenvisnearlyasgreatasc.Asanexampleofthiseffect,todeflectthehighspeedelectronsin
thesynchrotronthatisusedhereatCaltech,weneedamagneticfieldthatis2000 timesstrongerthan
wouldbeexpectedonthebasisofNewtonslaws.Inotherwords,themassoftheelectronsinthe
synchrotronis2000 timesasgreatastheirnormalmass,andisasgreatasthatofaproton!Thatm
shouldbe2000 timesm meansthat1 v /c mustbe1/4,000,000,andthatmeansthatvdiffers
fromcbyonepartin8,000,000 ,sotheelectronsaregettingprettyclosetothespeedoflight.Ifthe
electronsandlightwerebothtostartfromthesynchrotron(estimatedas700feetaway)andrushout
toBridgeLab,whichwouldarrivefirst?Thelight,ofcourse,becauselightalwaystravelsfaster.1
Howmuchearlier?Thatistoohardtotellinstead,wetellbywhatdistancethelightisahead:itis
about1/1000 ofaninch,or thethicknessofapieceofpaper!Whentheelectronsaregoingthat
fasttheirmassesareenormous,buttheirspeedcannotexceedthespeedoflight.
2

1
4

Nowletuslookatsomefurtherconsequencesofrelativisticchangeofmass.Considerthemotionof
themoleculesinasmalltankofgas.Whenthegasisheated,thespeedofthemoleculesisincreased,
andthereforethemassisalsoincreasedandthegasisheavier.Anapproximateformulatoexpressthe
increaseofmass,forthecasewhenthevelocityissmall,canbefoundbyexpanding

m /1 v /c = m (1 v /c )
inapowerseries,usingthebinomialtheorem.Weget
2

1/2

m 0 (1 v /c )

1/2

= m 0 (1 +

1
2

v /c

3
8

v /c

+ ).

Weseeclearlyfromtheformulathattheseriesconvergesrapidlywhenvissmall,andthetermsafter
thefirsttwoorthreearenegligible.Sowecanwrite
m m0 +

1
2

m0 v (

(15.11)

inwhichthesecondtermontherightexpressestheincreaseofmassduetomolecularvelocity.When
thetemperatureincreasesthev increasesproportionately,sowecansaythattheincreaseinmassis
proportionaltotheincreaseintemperature.Butsince m v isthekineticenergyintheold
fashionedNewtoniansense,wecanalsosaythattheincreaseinmassofallthisbodyofgasisequalto
theincreaseinkineticenergydividedbyc ,orm = (K.E.)/c .
2

1
2

159Equivalenceofmassandenergy
TheaboveobservationledEinsteintothesuggestionthatthemassofabodycanbeexpressedmore
simplythanbytheformula(15.1),ifwesaythatthemassisequaltothetotalenergycontentdivided
byc .IfEq.(15.11)ismultipliedbyc theresultis
2

mc

= m0 c

1
2

m0 v

(15.12)

Here,thetermontheleftexpressesthetotalenergyofabody,andwerecognizethelasttermasthe
ordinarykineticenergy.Einsteininterpretedthelargeconstantterm,m c ,tobepartofthetotal
energyofthebody,anintrinsicenergyknownastherestenergy.
2

Letusfollowouttheconsequencesofassuming,withEinstein,thattheenergyofabodyalways
2

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equalsmc .Asaninterestingresult,weshallfindtheformula(15.1)forthevariationofmasswith
speed,whichwehavemerelyassumeduptonow.Westartwiththebodyatrest,whenitsenergyis
m c .Thenweapplyaforcetothebody,whichstartsitmovingandgivesitkineticenergy
therefore,sincetheenergyhasincreased,themasshasincreasedthisisimplicitintheoriginal
assumption.Solongastheforcecontinues,theenergyandthemassbothcontinuetoincrease.We
havealreadyseen(Chapter13)thattherateofchangeofenergywithtimeequalstheforcetimesthe
velocity,or
2

dE
= F v.

(15.13)

dt

Wealsohave(Chapter9,Eq.9.1)thatF
thedefinitionofE ,Eq.(15.13)becomes

= d(mv)/dt

d(mc )

.Whentheserelationsareputtogetherwith

d(mv)
= v

dt

(15.14)

dt

Wewishtosolvethisequationform .Todothiswefirstusethemathematicaltrickofmultiplying
bothsidesby2m ,whichchangestheequationto
d(mv)

dm

c (2m)

= 2mv

dt

(15.15)

dt

Weneedtogetridofthederivatives,whichcanbeaccomplishedbyintegratingbothsides.The
quantity(2m) dm/dtcanberecognizedasthetimederivativeofm ,and(2mv) d(mv)/dt is
thetimederivativeof(mv) .So,Eq.(15.15)isthesameas
2

d(m )

d(m v )
=

dt

(15.16)

dt

Ifthederivativesoftwoquantitiesareequal,thequantitiesthemselvesdifferatmostbyaconstant,
sayC .Thispermitsustowrite
2

m c

= m v

+ C.

(15.17)

WeneedtodefinetheconstantC moreexplicitly.SinceEq.(15.17)mustbetrueforallvelocities,we
canchooseaspecialcasewherev = 0 ,andsaythatinthiscasethemassism .Substitutingthese
valuesintoEq.(15.17)gives
0

m c
0

= 0 + C.

WecannowusethisvalueofC inEq.(15.17),whichbecomes
2

m c

= m v

+ m c .
0

(15.18)

Dividingbyc andrearrangingtermsgives
2

m (1 v /c ) = m ,
0

fromwhichweget

m = m 0 / 1 v /c .

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Thisistheformula(15.1),andisexactlywhatisnecessaryfortheagreementbetweenmassand
energyinEq.(15.12).
Ordinarilytheseenergychangesrepresentextremelyslightchangesinmass,becausemostofthetime
wecannotgeneratemuchenergyfromagivenamountofmaterialbutinanatomicbombof
explosiveenergyequivalentto20kilotonsofTNT,forexample,itcanbeshownthatthedirtafterthe
explosionislighterby1gramthantheinitialmassofthereactingmaterial,becauseoftheenergythat
wasreleased,i.e.,thereleasedenergyhadamassof1gram,accordingtotherelationship
E = (mc ) .Thistheoryofequivalenceofmassandenergyhasbeenbeautifullyverifiedby
experimentsinwhichmatterisannihilatedconvertedtotallytoenergy:Anelectronandapositron
cometogetheratrest,eachwitharestmassm .Whentheycometogethertheydisintegrateandtwo
gammaraysemerge,eachwiththemeasuredenergyofm c .Thisexperimentfurnishesadirect
determinationoftheenergyassociatedwiththeexistenceoftherestmassofaparticle.
2

1. Theelectronswouldactuallywintheraceversusvisiblelightbecauseoftheindexofrefraction
ofair.Agammaraywouldmakeoutbetter.
Copyright1963,2006,2013bytheCaliforniaInstituteofTechnology,
MichaelA.Gottlieb,andRudolfPfeiffer

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