RELATIVITY

Quiz ( crosswise)
1-2. Who were the scientists (just provide their last names) who
performed an experiment using an interferometer to determine the
existence of the ether?
3. What year did the scientists in nos. 1 and 2 perform their
experiment?
4. What is an interferometer used for?
5. Who derived the transformation equations, now used in the
theory of relativity?
6. In what year did Einstein publish his work on relativity?
7-8. Enumerate the two postulates of Einstein in the Special Theory
of Relativity
9-10. Give two consequences of Einsteins theory of relativity.

Events and Measurements

Simultaneity

The Relativity of Simultaneity

A railroad car traveling to the right with velocity v.

The Relativity of Simultaneity

Exploding firecrackers as seen in two different reference frames.

The Relativity of Simultaneity

Exploding firecrackers as seen in two different reference frames.

The Relativity of Simultaneity

The real sequence of events in Peggys reference frame.

The Relativity of Simultaneity

Time Dilation

Length Contraction

Serway P39.11
A spaceship with a proper length of 300 m takes 0.750 s to pass
an Earth observer. Determine the speed of this spaceship as
measured by the Earth observer.

Serway P39.17
A friend passes by you in a spaceship traveling at a high speed. He
tells you that his ship is 20.0 m long and that the identically
constructed ship you are sitting in is 19.0 m long. According to your
observations, (a) how long is your ship, (b) how long is your friends
ship, and (c) what is the speed of your friends ship?