Section A HW 1 [12010-12050]

Ch. 1: 9,10,12; Ch. 3: 4,8,12

Nikhil Desai
Chapter 1
Problem 9
a: Let the spatial separation between Earth and Andromeda, in the rest frame of the
Earth, be x
r
, and the time in which the spaceship is observed to make the trip in this
frame be t
r
. The invariant spacetime interval s corresponding to the trip is specied
by the equation s
2
= (ct
r
)
2
(x
r
)
2
. Since s is invariant under the change of
reference frame, we know that if x
s
and t
s
signify spatial and temporal separation,
respectively, in the spaceship frame, then s
2
= (ct
s
)
2
x
2
s
. But x
s
is clearly zero,
so s = ct
s
, and so
t
s
=
s
c
=
_
c
2
t
2
r
x
2
r
c
=
_
t
2
r

x
2
r
c
2
.
Substituting, we have that t
s
= 2.00 10
5
years.
b: We observe that v
r
=
x
r
t
r
= 0.995c.
c: We substitute into the formula from part (a), to nd that t
s
= 6.33 10
4
years.
Additionally, =
x
r
ct
r
= 0.9995.
d: We are given t
r
and wish to calculate the speed necessary to achieve this for the
trip. Using the invariance of the interval, we once again have that s
2
= c
2
t
2
r
x
2
r
=
c
2
t
2
s
. Consequently,
ct
r
=
_
x
2
r
+ c
2
t
2
s
.
As a result,
=
x
r
ct
r
=
x
r
_
x
2
r
+ c
2
t
2
s
.
To simplify this calculation, we observe that
x
r
_
x
2
r
+ c
2
t
2
s
=
_
1 +
c
2
t
2
s
x
2
r
_

1
2
1
c
2
t
2
s
2x
2
r
.
Substituting, we get that 1 5 10
11
.
1
Problem 10
a: We know that Samanthas information is carried at the speed of light from here
to Zircon, as viewed in the Eart-Zircon reference frame, which we shall call the rest
frame. Let the distance Samantha traveled in the rest frame be x
r
, and the time
this travel takes to be t
r
. It is clear that on Samanthas outbound trip,
r
= 1,
since she travels at the speed of light. Thus, x
r
= ct
r
. The spacetime interval
corresponding to the outbound trip is s =
_
(ct
r
)
2
x
2
r
=
_
(ct
r
)
2
(ct
r
)
2
=
0. In Samanthas reference frame, the distance between start and destination is zero,
and so she does not age.
b: Samantha ages for one year during her stay on Zircon, then again instantaneously
(for her) transports herself back to Earth. She has aged for a total of one year.
c: In the rest frame, Samanthas information takes two million years to reach Zircon
and two million years to return. She also spends one year on Zircon, for a total of
4,000,001 years.
d: Assuming that the conquest of Zircon is instantaneous, it should take at least
4 million years for the dictator to hear back.
e: Samantha should still age just one year; the travel to and from the galaxy is, for
the astronaut, instantaneous (as ascertained previously), while the astronaut will age
one year with relation to the time spent in the galaxys reference frame. This is a total
of one year.
Problem 12
a: Ignoring time dilation, we see that half of the mesons would remain after the
group has traveled a distance = c, where is their half-life. By the charts, we then
have that = 5.4 meters.
b: The characteristic distance at which half of the particles are undecayed was
(erroneously) calculated to be = c above. The proper distance for the mesons should
in reality be

= v

, where

is the half-life of the particles as measured in the Earths

rest frame, and v is the observed speed of the particles. The spacetime interval cor-
responding to a particle traveling this distance is s =
_
(c

)
2

2
=

c
2

2
v
2

2
.
Letting denote the ratio of particle speed to c, we have that v = c, so
s =
_
c
2

2
v
2

2
=

_
c
2

2
c
2
= c

_
1
2
.
In the reference frame of a traveling particle, we know this corresponds to an interval
of time and a spatial interval of zero, so we have that c = s = c

_
1
2
, and so

=

_
1
2
= .
Consequently,

=
v

c
=
(c)()
c
= =

_
1
2
.
Substituting for , we nd this to be approximately 15.1 .
2
Chapter 3
Problem 4
a: yes. b: yes. c: no. d: no. e: no. f: yes. g: no.
Problem 8
a: The particle radiates light isotropically at each point in its trajectory. Let the
particle travel at v, the light at c

=
c
n
, where n is the mediums index of refraction.
Observe that in a time t, the particle travels vt while the light travels c

t. In order for a
single cone to form, the wavefront formed by the traveling light must be perpendicular
to the direction of propagation. Consequently, the angle as given in the gure is given
by
cos =
c

t
vt
=
c
n
v
=
1
v
c
n
=
1
n
,
which was to be shown.
b: To produce Cerenkov radiation, a particle moving in Lucite must have a speed
greater than
2
3
c, as n =
3
2
. A particle moving in Lucite has a maximum velocity of just
less than c, for which the angle of the shock cone is
arccos
_
1
(1)
_
3
2
_
_
= arccos
_
2
3
_
48.19 degrees.
Problem 12
a: The two legs of the trip take dierent times. In the rst leg, from A to B, the
wind blows against the plane and it travels with an actual velocity of (c v), taking a
time
x
cv
(where x is the distance between A and B.) In the second leg, from B to A,
it travels with an actual velocity of c +v and takes time
x
c+v
. Thus, the total time taken
is
t =
x
c v
+
x
c + v
= x
_
(c + v) + (c v)
(c v)(c + v)
_
=
(x)(2c)
c
2
v
2
We can rearrange this to obtain
_
2x
c
_

1
_
c
2
v
2
c
2
_ =
2x
c

_
1
1
_
v
c
_
2
_
,
The original round trip would have taken a total time of 2
_
x
c
_
, so the round-trip is
longer by a factor of
1
1
v
2
c
2
. The reason that equivalent boosts and drags given by
the wind on the dierent legs do not cancel out is because the relationship of velocity to
time taken to travel a given distance is not linear (in fact, it is an inverse relationship).
3
b: The plane ies at speed c such that its motion in the direction of the wind is
exactly countered by the wind itself, traveling at speed v. This means that for both legs,
the plane has a lateral speed of

c
2
v
2
, and consequently the round-trip of the plane
is
2x

c
2
v
2
=
_
2x
c
__
c

c
2
v
2
_
=
_
2x
c
_
_
_
1
_
1
_
v
c
_
2
_
_
,
which is a factor of
1

1(
v
c
)
2
greater than the travel time in still air, as was to be shown.
c: It is clear that
1
_
1
_
v
c
_
2
<
1
1
_
v
c
_
2
when v < c, since if v < c,
v
c
< 1, so 0 < 1
v
2
c
2
< 1 and so
1
_
v
c
_
2
<
_
1
_
v
c
_
2
.
Consequently, the plane ying across the wind returns rst, and we can infer that the
plane ying in the direction of the wind will return last. The dierence between the
arrival times of these two ights will be
t =
2x
c
_
_
1
1
_
v
c
_
2

1
_
1
_
v
c
_
2
_
_
=
2x
c
_
_
1
v
2
c
2
_
1

_
1
v
2
c
2
_

1
2
_
2
x
c

__
1 +
v
2
c
2
_

_
1 +
v
2
2c
2
__
= 2
x
c

_
v
2
2c
2
_
=
x v
2
c
3
d: We know that the rst plane to arrive back will be the one ying perpendicu-
lar to the direction of the wind, while the last to arrive will be parallel to the wind.
Consequently, the wind velocity can be calculated by using the formula from part c to
get
v =
_
c
3
t
x
.
Substituting, we get for the problem that v = 2.78 m/s.
e: If there were no reection, then the approximate time lag of the light beams would
be, as calculated before,
t =
v
2
x
c
3
= 7.3 10
16
s.
This is too small to detect with current measuring tools.
4
If there were reection, then t would be in the form

i
=
v
2
x
i
c
3
=
v
2
c
3

i
x
i
,
where

i
x
i
= x. Thus, the same time delay would be observed.
f: We know that for any frequency of light, f = c, and f = T
1
, so
T =
1
f
=
1
c/
=

c
.
Substituting, we have that T 2.0 10
25
seconds.
Michelson and Morleys observations indicated that the total change in delay between
the two congurations is less than
T
100
, and consequently 2t <
T
100
. Replacing the
expression for t, we get
2
_
x
c
3
v
2
_
<
T
100
and so
v <
_
c
3
T
200x
= 3.5 10
3
m/s.
This is less than one-ninth the speed of Earth in its orbit.
g: Not necessarily. Perhaps the ether is locally stationary - a small clump of ether
might surround the Earth and make the speed of the ether locally zero. We could test
this by performing the experiment on some body moving relative to the Earth, such as
the Moon, and seeing if the same results are obtained there.
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