CHAPTER 2

Relativity II

I n the opening section of Chapter 1 we discussed the classical observation that, if

Newton’s second law F 5 ma holds in a particular reference frame, it also holds in
any other reference frame that moves with constant velocity relative to it, that is, in any
2-1 Relativistic
Momentum
2-2 Relativistic
66

inertial frame. As shown in Section 1-1, the Galilean transformation (Equations 1-2) Energy 70
leads to the same accelerations a x= = a x in both frames, and forces such as those due 2-3 Mass/Energy
to stretched springs are also the same in both frames. However, according to the Conversion and
Lorentz transformation, accelerations are not the same in two such reference frames. Binding Energy 81
If a particle has acceleration ax and velocity ux in frame S, its acceleration in S9, 2-4 Invariant Mass 84
obtained by computing du x= >dt9 from Equation 1-22, is 2-5 General
ax Relativity 97
a x= = 2-1
g 11 - vu x >c 2 2 3
3

Thus, F>m must transform in a similar way, or else Newton’s second law, F 5 ma,
does not hold.
It is reasonable to expect that F 5 ma does not hold at high speeds, for this equa-
tion implies that a constant force will accelerate a particle to unlimited velocity if it
acts for a long enough time. However, if a particle’s velocity were greater than c in
some reference frame S, we could not transform from S to the rest frame of the parti-
cle because g becomes imaginary when v  c. We can show from the velocity trans-
formation that, if a particle’s velocity is less than c in some frame S, it is less than c in
all frames moving relative to S with v  c. This result leads us to expect that particles
never have speeds greater than c. Thus, we expect that Newton’s second law F 5 ma
is not relativistically invariant. We will, therefore, need a new law of motion, but one
that reduces to Newton’s classical version when b(5 v>c) S 0, since F 5 ma is
consistent with experimental observations when b V 1.
In this chapter we will explore the changes in classical dynamics that are
­dictated by relativity theory, directing particular attention to the same concepts
around which classical mechanics was developed, namely mass, momentum, and
energy. We will find these changes to be every bit as dramatic as those we encoun-
tered in Chapter 1, including a Lorentz transformation for momentum and energy
and a new invariant quantity to stand beside the invariant spacetime interval Ds.
Then, in the final section of the chapter, we will direct our attention to noninertial, or
accelerated, reference frames—the theory of general relativity, Einstein’s theory of
gravity that underlies our contemporary understanding of the origin and evolution of
the universe.

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