PH1001 4

 Length Contraction
L  L0 1  v 2 / c 2
Clearly the length contraction is most

significant at speeds near that of light.
A speed of 1000 km/s seems fast to us, but it only results in a shortening in the
direction of motion to 99.9994 percent of the proper length of an object moving at
this speed.
On the other hand, something traveling at nine-tenths the speed of light is shortened
to 44 percent of its proper length, a significant change.
Like time dilation, the length contraction is a reciprocal effect. To a person in a

spacecraft, objects on the earth appear shorter than they did when he or she was on
the ground by the same factor of (1-v2/c2) that the spacecraft appears shorter to
somebody at rest.
The proper length L0 found in the rest frame is the maximum length any observer will
measure. As mentioned earlier, only lengths in the direction of motion undergo
contraction.
Thus to an outside observer a spacecraft is shorter in flight than on the ground, but it
is not narrower.
PH1001/29
 Doppler effect Why the universe is believed to be expanding
: Source frequency
: Observed frequency
Doppler effect in light differ from that in sound.
Doppler effect in light by considering a light source as a clock that ticks ν0 times per second
and emits a wave of light with each tick
The observed frequency is always lower than the source frequency .

PH1001/30
PH1001/31
Doppler shifts in radar waves are used by police to measure vehicle
speeds,
Doppler shifts in the radio waves emitted by a set of earth satellites

formed the basis of the highly accurate Transit system of marine
navigation.
Stars emit light of certain characteristic frequencies called spectral lines,
and motion of a star toward or away from the earth shows up as a
Doppler shift in these frequencies.
The spectral lines of distant galaxies of stars are all shifted toward the
low-frequency (red) end of the spectrum and hence are called “red shifts.”
Such shifts indicate that the galaxies are receding from us and from one
another.
The speeds of recession are observed to be proportional to distance,

which suggests that the entire universe is expanding. This proportionality
is called Hubble’s law.
PH1001/32
Example-1
Ans
Example-2
Ans:
PH1001/33
Velocity Addition
The light emitted from the S in the direction of its motion relative to another frame S
ought to have a speed of c + v as measured in S.
violets the postulate of relativity
Common sense is no more reliable as a guide in science than it is elsewhere
Suppose something is moving relative to both S and S . An observer in S measures its

three velocity components to be
dx dy dz
Vx  Vy  Vz 
dt dt dt
 dx  dy  dz 
While to an observer Vx  Vy  Vz 
dt  dt  dt 
By differentiating the inverse Lorentz transformation equations for x, y, z and t, we have
vdx
dx  vdt  dt  
dx  dy  dy dz  dz dt  c2
1 v / c
2 2
1 v2 / c2
PH1001/34
dx
v
dx dx  vdt  dt 
and so Vx   
dt vd x  v dx
dt   2 1 2
c c dt 
Relativistic velocity transformation
Vx  v V y 1  v 2 / c 2
Vz 
Vz 1  v 2 / c 2
Vx  Vy  vV 
vVx vV 
1  2x 1  2x
1 2 c
c c
If Vx = c, if the light is emitted in the moving frame K in its direction of

motion relative to K, an observer in frame K will measure the speed:
Vx  v cv c (c  v )
Vx    c
vV  vc cv
1  2x 1 2
c c
PH1001/35
What is the speed of the second stage of the rocket shown with
respect to the earth?
Ans. u = v + u’
1 + vu’/c2
= 0.60c + 0.60c
1 + [(0.60c)(0.60c)/c2 ]
u = 0.88 c
(classical addition would give you 1.20c,
over the speed of light)
Suppose a car travelling at 0.60c turns on its headlights. What is the speed of the light
travelling out from the car?
Now the car is travelling at c and turns
 u = v + u’
on its headlights.
 1 + vu’/c2
u = v + u’
 u = 0.60c + c = 1.60c
1 + vu’/c2
 1 + [(0.60c)(c)/c2 ] 1.60
u=c+ c = 2c
 u=c
1 + [(c)(c)/c2 ] 2
u=c
PH1001/36
PH1001/37
 Relativistic Mass, Momentum and Energy
Classical mechanics: Linear momentum: p = mv,
v <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< c
Whether this formula is valid in relativistic inertial frames ?
Relativistic momentum: p  mu where :  

1
1 v2 / c2
In this form the conservation of momentum is valid in special relativity
Effect on mass: Mass

Mass observed by an Mass measured when
observer moving object is at rest relative
relative to the mass to the observer-rest mass
m0
m 
1 v2 / c2
The mass of an object is measured to increase as its speed increases.
PH1001/38
As the speed gets closer and closer to c, the momentum increases without
limit; note that the speed must be close to the speed of light before
Difference between classical and relativistic momentum is noticeable:
The object's velocity can

never reach c because its
momentum would then be
infinite, which is impossible.
The relativistic momentum

mv is always correct;
The classical momentum mv

is valid for velocities much
smaller than c.
Due to the new idea of relativistic mass, one can now redefine the
concepts of work and energy.
PH1001/39
Now Newton’s second law can be modified to include the new
definition of linear momentum, and force becomes:
Relativistic second Law:
Find the acceleration of a particle of mass m and velocity v when it is acted upon by
the constant force F, where F is parallel to v.
Even though the force is constant, the acceleration of the particle decreases as its
velocity increases. As v → c, a→ 0, so the particle can never reach the speed of light
PH1001/40

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 Length Contraction

Clearly the length contraction is most

Like time dilation, the length contraction is a reciprocal effect. To a person in a

Doppler effect in light differ from that in sound.

The observed frequency is always lower than the source frequency .

Doppler shifts in the radio waves emitted by a set of earth satellites

The speeds of recession are observed to be proportional to distance,

violets the postulate of relativity

Common sense is no more reliable as a guide in science than it is elsewhere

Suppose something is moving relative to both S and S . An observer in S measures its

If Vx = c, if the light is emitted in the moving frame K in its direction of

Relativistic momentum: p  mu where :  

Effect on mass: Mass

The object's velocity can

The relativistic momentum

The classical momentum mv

Relativistic second Law:

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