IN F. TAYLOR + RCHIBALD HEELERTHE AUTHORS Jours AnciisALD Wieser (Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University) is one of the ‘world’s foremost relativsts. He is Joseph Henry Professor Emeritus at Princeton University and, until his retirement in 1986, Blumberg Professor of Physics and Director, Center for Theoretical Physics, at the University of Texas at Austin. A past president of the American Physical Society, he isa recipient of the Enrico Fermi Aware (1968), the National Medal of Science (1970), and the Niels Bohr International Gold Medal (1982). Since the appearance of the First Edition of Spacetime Physics, John Wheeler has published a graduate text in general relativity, GRAVITATION, with Kip S. ‘Thorne and Charles W. Misner (W. H. Freeman, 1970) and a popular treatment of gravity, A Journey into Gravity and Spacetime (Scientific American Library, 1990; distributed by W. H. Freeman). Epwin E TAYLOR (Ph.D., Harvard University) taught physics for 26 years at the “Massachusetts Insticute of Technology. He is currently Research Professor in the Department of Physics at Boston University. He is the author of a textbook on in troductory mechanics and An Introduction 10 Quantum Physics with A. P. French (W. W. Norton, 1978). He has served as Editor of the American Journal of Physics. With MIT undergraduates, Edwin Taylor produced interactive computer pro- ‘grams to help students visualize and solve problems in special relaivity. These ‘won the 1988 EDUCOM/NCRIPTAL Higher Education Software Awards for Best Physics Software and Best Tool Software. ‘THE BOOK Gallaboration on the First Edition of Spacetime Physics began in the mid-1960s ‘when Edwin Taylor took a junior faculty sabbatical at Princeton University where John Wheeler was a professor. The resulting text emphasized the unity of space- time and those quantities (such as proper time, proper distance, mass) that are in- variant, the same for all observers, rather than those quantities (such as space and time separations) chat are relative, diferent for differen observers. The text has become a standard for modern physics and relativity courses. as well as introduc- cory physics ‘The Second Edition of Spacetime Physics embodies what the authors have learned during an additional quarter century of teaching and research. They have updated the text co reflect the immense strides in physics during the same period and modernized and increased the number of exercises, for which the First Edition was famous. Enrichment boxes provide expanded coverage of intriguing topics. Sample problems encourage students to exercise their newfound power. An enlarged final ‘chapter on general relativity includes new material on gravity waves, black holes, and cosmology. ‘The Second Edition of Spacetime Physics provides a new generation of students with ‘deep and simple overview of the principles of rel sen 0-7167-2827-1 90000 > W. H. Freeman and Company | 41 Madison Avenue New Yock, NY 10010 alrsorietreser 20 Beaumont Street Oxford OX1 2NQ eRelativity describes Nature from quark to cosmos. Relativity empowers its user to ponder deeply, to analyze widely, to predict accurately, It is a theory of fantastic innocence, simplicity, and power. Yee “relativity theory” is a misleading term, a term Albert Binstein avoided for years. True, he recognized and revealed to the world that the time berween two ‘events is typically different as recorded by Earth observer or spaceship commander Time between events is relative, Relative too is the distance beween events. Yee behind these differences Einstein discerned unity: concepts and quantities on which everyone in the universe agrees. What concepts and quantities? Events. An explosion is an explosion. A birth is a birth. Whether ic is the birth of a star or your own birth, everyone agrees thac it happens. Wristwatch time. Carry a wristwatch direcly from one event to a second event, so that both take place atthe wrisewatch. Or lay a rod beeween ewo events that accu at the same time. Everyone, correctly predicts che wristwatch reading, and this rod length. ‘The path connecting events. Were you, there, at the first event? Yes. ‘And at the second? Yes. And the last? Yes. Does everyone in the universe agree that you were present at every event in this string? Yes. Does everyone agree on the advance of your wristwatch time from event to event along this entre string of events? Yes! Conservation laws. Everyone agrees that momentum 1s conserved in a collision of particles. Ie is also conserved when particles are creared, cransformed, or annihilated in that collision. Energy, too, is conserved in the same collision, everyone agrees. « ‘Agreements of these four kinds bear witness to a powerful and simple unity, the unity of space and time: spacetrme! Special relativity explores the unity of space- time. General relativity recognizes that spacetime is not just a passive stage on ‘which evenes occur; spacetime is an actor that takes part in physical events. All of relativity comes in a single simple sentence: Spacetime grips mass, telling it bow to ‘move: and mass grips spacetime. telling tt bow to curveSPACETIME PHYSICS introduction to special relativity Second Edition Edwin F. Taylor Massachusetts Institute of Technology John Archibald Wheeler Princeton University and University of Texas at Austin = W. H. Freeman and Company New YorkLibrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Taylor, Edwin F. Spacetime physics introduction to special relativity / Edwin F. Taylor, John Archibald Wheeler. — 2nd ed. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7167-2327-1 (EAN: 9780716723271) 1. Special relativity (Physics) I. Wheeler, John Archibald, 1911- IL Title. QC173.65T37_ 1991 92-722 530.1"1—de20 cp Copyright © 1992 by Edwin F. Taylor and John Archibald Wheeler No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise copied for public or private use, without written. permission from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America Tenth printing Both males and females make competent observers. We ordinarily treat the laboratory observer as male and the rocket observer as female. Beyond this, to avoid alternating “his” and “her” in a single chapter, we use female pronouns for an otherwise undesignated observer in odd-numbered chapters and male pronouns in even-numbered chapters. Epigram, facing page: Einstein remark to his assistant Ernst Straus, quoted in Mainsprings of Scientific Discovery by Gerald Holton in The Nature of Scientific Discoveiy, Owen Gingerich, Editor (Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, 1975).What I'm really interested in is whether God could have made the world in a different way; that is, whether the necessity of logical simplicity leaves any freedom at all. —Albor EinsteinEdwin F. Taylor and John Archibald Wheeler have written a general relativity sequel to Spacetime Physics, namely: Exploring Black Holes: Introduction to General Relativity Addison Wesley Longman, San Francisco, 2000 ISBN 0-201-38423XCONTENTS Chapter 1 SPACETIME: OVERVIEW 1 The great unity is spacetime; its measure, the spacetime interval, isthe same or all observers, 1.1 Poroble of the Surveyors 1 1.2 Surveying Spacetime 51.3 Events ond Intervals Alone! 9 1.4 Same Unit for Space and Time: Moter, Second, Minute, or Year 11 1.5 Unity of Spacetime 15 References 18 ‘Acknowledgments 19 Introduction to the Exercises 19 Exercises 20 Chapter 2 FLOATING FREE 25 Jump off the roof: On she way down—in free flaat —we have an (almost!) ‘perfect setting for conducting experiments, 2.1 Floating to the Moon 25 2.2 The Inertial (Free-Float) Frame 26 2.3 Local Character of Free-Float Frome 30 2.4 Regions of Spacetime 34 2.5 TestPorticle 36 2.6 Locoting Events With a Latticework of Clocks 37 2.7 Observer 39 2.8 Measuring Particle Speed 40 2.9 Rocket Frome 41 2.10 Summory 43 References 44 Exercises 45 Chapter 3 SAME LAWS FOR ALL 53 Without looking out of the window, we cannot tell which free-float frame we 3.1 The Principle of Relativity 53. 3.2 What Is NOT the Some in Different Frames 56 3.3 What IS the Same in Different Frames 60 3.4 Relativity of Simultaneity 623.5 Lorentz Contraction of Length 63 3.6 Invariance of Transverse Dimension 65 3.7 Invariance of the Interval Proved 67 3.8 Invarionce of the Interval for ALL Free-Floot Frames 71 3.9 Summary 73 References 76 Acknowledgments 77 Exercises 78 Special Topic LORENTZ TRANSFORMATION 95 Observe an event in the laboratory; predict its space and time readings in the rocket. L1 Lorentz Transformation: Useful or Not? 95.2 Faster Tham light? 96 La First Steps 9. LA Form ofthe Lorentz Transformation 100, 5 Completing the Derivation 101 1.6 Inverse Lorentz, Transformation 102 L.7 Addition of Velocities 103.8 Summory 111 Reference 111 Exercises 112 vChapter 4 TRIP TO CANOPUS = 121 Travel quickly to a distant star and return, to find we have traveled into the future 4.1 Invitation to Canopus 1214.2 Stripped-Down Fres-Float Frame 121 '3 Foster Thon Light? 122 4.4 Allof Space is Oursl 1234.5 Flight Plon 124 4.6 Twin Poradox 125 4.7 Lorentz Contraction 126 1B Time Teavolor 127 4.9 Rolativity of Simultonoity 128 4.10 Experimental Evidence 131 References 134 Exercises 135 Chapter 5 TREKKING THROUGH SPACETIME 137 ‘Move or stand still; in eitber case we soar through spacetime. 5.1 Time? No. Spacetime Map? Yes. 137 5.2 Some Events; Different Free-Floct Frames 139 5.3 Invariant Hyperbola 143 5.4 Worldline 143 5.5 Length Along @ Path 147 §.6 Wristwotch Time ‘Along aWorldline 1485.7 Kinked Worldiine 152 5.8 Strotch Factor 185 5.9 Touring Spacetime Without « Reference Frome 160 5.10 Summary 162 References 163 Exercises 163 Chapter 6 REGIONS OF SPACETIME 171 The speed of light is a mighty barrier that preserves cause and effect. 1 Light Speed: Limit on Causality 171 _ 6.2 Relation Between Events: imelike, Spocelike, or Lightike 172 6.3 Light Cone: Partition i Spocetime 177 Exercises 183 Chapter 7 MOMENERGY = 189 A second great unity is momentum-energy (momenergy); its measure, mass, is the same for all observers. 7.1. Momenergy: Total Conserved in @ Collision 189 7.2 Momenergy ‘Arrow 1917.3 Momeneray Components and Magnitude 195 7.4 Momentum: ‘Space Part” of Momenergy 199 7.8 Enorgy: Momenergy 201 7.6 Conservation of Momenergy and its Consequences 207 7.7 Summary 211 Acknowledgment 213 Exercises 214 “Time Port” of Chapter 8 COLLIDE. CREATE. ANNIHILATE. 221 Convert mass 10 energy and energy 10 mass 8.1 Tho System 221 8.2 Three Modest Experiments 222 8.3 Mass of a System of Porticles 224 8.4 Energy Without Mass: Photon 228 8.5 Photon Used to Create Mass 233 8.6 Moteriol Porticle Used to Create Moss 234 8.7 Converting Moss to Usable Energy: Fission, Fusion, Annihilation 237 8.8 Summary 244 Dialog: Uso ond Abuse of the Concept of Mass 246 References 251 Acknowledgments 252 Exercises 253 viChapter 9 GRAVITY: CURVED SPACETIME IN ACTION = 275 Gravity is not a force reaching across space but a distortion — curvature! — af spacetime experienced right where you are. 9.1 Gravity in Brief 275 9.2 Golileo, Newton, and Einstein 275 9.3 Local Moving Orders for Moss 277 9.4 Spacetime Curvature 280 9.5 Porable of tho Two Travelers 281 9.6 Gravitation os Curvature of Spacetime 284 9.7 Gravity Waves 288 9.8 BlackHole 292 9.9 The Cosmos 296 References 296 ANSWERS TO ODD-NUMBERED EXERCISES 299 INDEX 303 wiiCHAPTER 1 O + magination is sretche tothe tor, 0, 5 1m fiction, s0 imagine things which re not relly te e 4 10 0 comprebend those thi. ps which ace there 1.1 PARABLE OF THE SURVEYORS (nce upon a time there was a Daytime surveyor who measured off che king's lands. He took his directions of north and east from a magnetic compass needle. Eastward separations from the center of the town square he measured in meters, The northward direction was sacred. He measured northward separations from the town square in a different unit, in miles. His records were complece and accurate and were often, consulted by other Daytimers ‘A second group, the Nighttimers, used the services of another surveyor, Her norch ‘and east directions were based on a different standard of north: the direction of the [North Star, She too measured separations eastward from the center ofthe town square jn meters and sacred separations nocthward in miles. The records of the Nighetime surveyor were complete and accurate. Marked by a stecl stake, every comer ofa plot appeared in her book, along with its eastward and northward separations from the town square. Daytimers and Nighttimers did not mix but lived mostly in peace with one another. However, the two groups often disputed the location of property boundaries. Why? Because a given comer ofthe typical por of land showed up with different numbers in the two record books for is eastward separation from the town center, measured in meters (Figure 1-1). Northward measurements in miles also did not agree between the two record books. The differences were small, but the mest careful surveying did noe succeed in eliminating them. No one knew what to do aboue this single source of, friction beeween Daytimers and Nighttimers. ‘One fll a student of surveying turned up with novel open-mindedness. Unlike all previous students at the rival schools, he attended both. At Day School he learned 1 Richord P. Feynman Daytime surveyor uses magnetic north Nighttime surveyor uses North-Stor north,(GHAPTER 1 SPACETIME: OVERVIEW poop ooo Oo Oo ofp ‘contr of town square ) beet al G DAYTIME: MAGNETIC NORTH Student converts miles to meters magnetic > 4 fi rad Neh town squore oo NIGHTTIME: NORTH-STAR NORTH OURE 1-1. The toun as plated by Daytime and Nightime surveyors, Nace hat te lin of Daytime magnetic ro jugs ie side of te nr gt, ule te Fie of Night Nertbe Star. ‘th jus grasa te ih side of he sgt, Stl takes A,B,C, D dee int the ground mark he orm of edited lt of ed. As shun, te ata paration of aA from te mrt atin ‘reared b te Daytime reer dif from bat mere by Bb NiBtine sree. from one expert his method of recording locations of gates ofthe town and corners of plots of land based on magnetic north. At Night School he learned the other method, based on North-Sear north. ‘As days and nights passed, che student puzzled more and morein an attempt to find some harmonious relationship berween rival ways of recording location. His attention ‘was attracted toa particular plot of and, the subject of dispute between Daytimers and \Nightiimers, and eo the stel stakes driven into the ground to mark corners of this disputed plot. He carefully compared records ofthe two surveyors (Figure 1-1, Table 1D. In defiance of tradition, the student took the daring and heretical step of converting northward measurements, previously expressed always in miles, into meters by multi- plying with a constant conversion factor . He found the value of this conversion factor to be A= 1609.344 merers/mile, So, for example, a northward seperation of 3 miles ‘could be converted to & X 3 miles = 1609.344 mecets/mile X 3 miles = 4828.032 meters. “At last we are treating both directions the same!” he exclaimed. ‘Nea the student compared Daytime and Nighttime measurements by trying ‘various combinations of eastward and northward separation between a given stake and the center of the town square. Somewhere the student heard of the Pythagorean, ‘Theorem, that che sum of squares ofthe lengths of two perpendicular legs of aright triangle equals the square of the length ofthe hypotenuse. Applying this theorem, he discovered that the expression Daytime Daytime MET -1.1 PARABLE OF THE SURVEYORS 3 TWO DIFFERENT SETS OF RECORDS; SAME PLOT OF LAND Daytime ervey’ axes Nightime sereyor's anes oriented 19 magrtic wrth sriented to Net Sar north Bascward ‘Norhward Easward Norchmard (meres) (ails) (meters) (ale) ‘Town square o ° o ° Comer sakes: Sake A 4010. 1.8330 3930.0 18827 Sake B 5010.0 18268, 4930.0 1.8890 Sake C 000.0 127 3960.0 12614 Sake D 3000.0 12054 49600 1.2676 based on Daytime measurements of the position of steel stake Chad exactly the same numerical value as the quantity Nighttime Nighttime | computed from the readings of the Nighttime surveyor for stake C (Table 1-2). He TABLE TD “INVARIANT DISTANCE” FROM CENTER OF TOWN SQUARE TO STAKE C {@ata from Table 1-1) [Nighetime measurements "Nordhward separation 1.2614 miles Maley by 609.344 metes/mile 1950.0 meters ‘Square the value ascward separation 4000.0 meters 3,802,500 (mecers)* 4,120,900 (ees)? ‘Square the value and add ‘Sum of squares Bepresed as 2 number squared ‘Tiss che square cof whae mensrement? = (4450 meres? 4450 meters ‘quate che vale‘and add ‘Sum of squares Expressed asa number squared "This is he square of wha measoemen? $15,681,600 (meres)? 9,802,500 (mes)? eh SAME DISTANCE from center of Towa SquareDiscovery: Invariance of distance center of town square DAYTIME: MAGNETIC NORTH NorthStar north —— — ke A he -sitonce FIGURE 1-2. The ditence brwecr tobe A and ‘the centr ofthe town square has the same oir NonhvStor ale for Daytine and Nighttime srveyes, it. ven thugh te northward and easroord pe: sua ‘ation, retctoly, arma th ame forthe NIGHTTIME: NORTH-STAR NORTH mand ‘ried the same comparison on recorded positions of stakes A, B, and D and found agreement here t00. The student's excitement grew as he checked his scheme of ‘comparison for all stakes at the comers of dispured plors—and found everywhere agreement Flushed with success, che student methodically converted all northward measure- ‘ments co units of meters. Then the student realized that the quantity he had calculated, the numerical value ofthe above expressions, was not only the same for Daytime and [Nightrime measurements. Ie was aso the square of a length: (meters). He decided to sive this lengch a name. He called ic che distance from the center of town. northward]? [eastward (stance? = | separation | + | separation os (meters) (meters) He said he had discovered the principle of invariance of distance; he reckoned exactly the same value for distance from Daytime measurements a from Nighttime smeasuremenss, despite the fact that the cwo sets of surveyors’ numbers differed significantly (Figure 1-2), ‘After sore initial confusion and resistance, Daytimers and Nighttimers welcomed the student's new idea. The invariance of distance, along with farther results, made ie possible co harmonize Daytime and Nighttime surveys, so everyone could agree on che location of each plor of land. In this way the last source of friction between Daytimers and Nightcimers was removed. ~e-1.2 SURVEYING SPACETIME 1.2 SURVEYING SPACETIME disagree on separations in space an @ ree on spacetime inferval ‘The Parable ofthe Surveyors illustrates the naive state of physics before the discovery of special relativity by Einstein of Bem, Lorentz of Leiden, and Poincaré of Paris. [Naive in what way? Three central points compare physics atthe turn of the twentieth century with surveying before the student artived to help Daytimers and Nightrimers. First, surveyors in the mythical kingdom measured northward separations in a sacred unit, the mile, different from che unie use in measuring eastwatd separation. Similarly, people seudying physics measured time in a sacred unit, called the second, different from the nie used to measure space. No one suspected the powerful results of using the same unit for both, or of squaring and combining space and time separations when both were measured in meters. Time in meters is just the time ictakes alight flash to go that number of meters, The conversion factor between seconds and _meters is the speed of light, ¢= 299,792,458 meters/second. The velocity of light ¢ (Go meters/second) multiplied by time ¢ (in seconds) yields ct (in mete), ‘The speed of lights the only nacura consranc that has the necessary units to convert atime toa length. Historically the value ofthe speed of light was regarded as sacred ‘number. It was not recognized asa mete conversion factor, ike the factor of conversion between miles and meters—a factor that arose out of historical aécidene in human- kkind's choice of units for space and time, with no deeper physical significance. Second, in the parable norchward readings as recorded by two surveyors did noe differ much because the ewo directions of north were inclined to one another by only the small angle of 1.15 degrees. At fist our mythical student thoughe that small differences becween Daytime and Nighttime northward measurements were due to surveying ertor alone. Analogously, we used to think of the separation in time between ‘wo electric sparks as the same, regardless of the motion of the observer. Only with che publication of Einstein’ relacvity paper in 1905 did we lear thar the separation in ‘ime between two sparks really has differene values for observes in different seates of ‘morion—in different frames. ‘Think of John standing quiety in the front doorway of his laboratory building. Suddenly a rocket carrying Mary flashes through the front door past John, zooms down the middle of the long corridor, and shoots out the back door. An ancenna projects from the side of Mary's rocket. As the rocker passes John, a spark jumps across the I-millimerer gap between the ancenna and a pen in John’s shire pocket. The rocket continues down the corridor. A second spark jumps 1 millimerer between the antenna and the fire extinguisher mounted on the wall 2 meters farther down the corridor. Sell later other metal objects nearer the rear receive additional sparks from the passing socket before it finally exits through the rear door. JJoha and Mary each measure the lapse of time berween “pen spark” and “fre- extinguisher spark.” They use accurate and fast electronic clocks. John. measures this time lapse as 33.6900 thousand-millionths of a second (0.0000000336900 second = 33.6900 X 107 second). This equals 33.6900 nanoseconds in the terminology of high-speed electronic circuitry. (One nanosecond = 10? second.) ‘Mary measures a slighly diferent value for the time lapse becween the two sparks, 33.0228 nanoseconds. For John the fre-extinguisher spark is separated in space by 2.0000 merers from the pen spark. For Mary in the rocket the pen spark and fire-extinguisher spark occur ar the same place, namely athe end of her antenna. Thus for her their space separation equals zero, ‘Later, laboratory and rocket observers compare their space and time measurements between the various sparks (Table 1-3). Space locations and time lapses in both frames are measured from the pen spark. 5 The second: A sacred unit ‘Speed of light converts seconds to meters Time between events: Different for diflerent frames ‘One observer uses laboratory frame Another observer uses rocketDiscovery: Invariance of ‘spacetime interval ‘CHAPTER 1 SPACETIME: OVERVIEW ‘SPACE AND TIME LOCATIONS OF THE SAME ‘SPARKS AS SEEN BY TWO OBSERVERS Distance and time between sparks as measured by eberer wh is sanding i laboratory Join) moving by in recht (Mary) Disance “Time Diseance Time (nec) (cancsecond) (net) (wanowecands) Refetence spac ° ° o o (een spark) Spark A 2.0000 33.6500 ° 33.0228 (Gre-exinguises spack) Spark B 3.0000 30.5350 ° 49.5343, Spark C 5.0000 84.2250 ° 82.3572 Spack D 8.0000 134.7600 ° 132.0915 ‘The third point of compatison between the Parable ofthe Surveyors and the state of physic before special relativity is this: The mythical student's discovery ofthe concepe of distance is matched by the Einstein - Poincaré discovery in 1905 of the invariant spacetime interval (formal name Lorentz interval, bue we often say just inter~ val), aceneral theme of this book. Let each time measurement in seconds be converted to meters by multiplying it by the “conversion factor ¢," the speed of light: = 299,792,458 meters/second = 2.99792458 X 10 meters/second = 0.299792458 X 10° meters/second = 0.299792458 meters nanosecond “Then che square ofthe spacetime interval is calculated feom the laboratory observer's ‘measurements by swbjracting the square of the space separation from the square of the time separation, Nore the minus sign in equation (1-4), Laboratory Laboratory time \P [space 7? ce?=] (stn) - ae a (seconds) (meters) ‘The rocker calculation gives exactly the same value ofthe interval as the laboratory calculation, Rocker Rocket time \P [space Cove? = OW FIGURE 1-3. This suomi “lc sends 10 te ey fat fier lash, each separated from the test By 1 mater of lighttravel time. A light ‘flach (raprseted by am atoms) bounces back ‘and forth broom parallel mirrors separated from ove anotber by 0.3 mater of distance, The Siler cating ofthe ight-bend mirror des not plc perfectly: Tete 1 percent ofthe ight pass ough 0 the ye each ie tbe ight pu its in, Hence the ee reeves a pale of ight exery ater of ligh-avel tne. Meter officially defined Using light speed. ‘Measure distance in light-years ‘CHAPTER | SPACETIME: OVERVIEW distance (Figure 1-3). uch a device isa “clock” cha ticks" each time che lighe fash arrives back at a given mirror. Between ticks the light flash has traveled a round-tip distance of 1 meter. Therefore we call the stretch of time berween ticks 1 meter of ight-travel time or more simply 1 meter of time. ‘One meter of light-tavel time is quite small compared to typical time lapses in cour everyday experience. Light eravels nearly 300 million meters per second (500,000,000 meters/second = 3 X 108 meters/second, four fifths of the way 0 ‘Moon in one second). Therefore one second equals 300 million meters of light-travel time. So 1 meter of light-travel time has the small value of one three-hundred-mil- lionth of a second. {How come? Because (1) light goes 300 million meters in one second, and (2) one chree-hundred-millionth of that distance (one metet!) is covered in ‘one three-hundred-millionth of that time. ] Nevertheless tis unit of ime is very useful ‘when dealing with light and with high-speed particles. A procon early in ics eravel through a particle accelerator may be jogging along at “only one half the speed of light. Then ic eravels 0.5 meter of distance in 1 meter of light-travel time. ‘We, our cas, even our jet planes, creep along at the pace ofa snail compared with light. We call a deed quick when we've done it in a second. But 2 second for light ‘means a distance covered of 300 million meters seven trips around Earth. As we dance around the room ro the fastest musi, oh, how slow we look to light! Not zooming. Not dancing. Not creeping. Oozing! That long slow ooze racks up an enormous ‘number of meters of light-travel ime. That number iso huge that, by the end of one step of our frantic dance, the lighe that catis the image ofthe step’s beginning is well 6n its way to Moon. In 1983 che General Conference on Weights and Measures ofcially redefined the ‘meter in cerms of the speed of light. The meter is now defined as the distance that light travels in a vacuum in the fraction 1/299,792,458 of a second. (For the definition of the second, see Box 3-2.) Since 1983 the speed of light is, by definition, equal 0 ¢ = 299,792,458 meters/second, This makes offical the central ‘position ofthe speed of light as a conversion factor between time and space. ‘This oficial action defines distance (metet) in terms of time (second). Every day we use time to measure distance. "My home is only ten minutes (by cat) from work.’ “The business district isa five-minute walk.” Each statement implies a speed —the speed of driving or walking — that converts distance to time. But these speeds can ‘vary —for example, when we get caught in traffic or walk on crutches. In contrat, the speed of lige in a vacuum does not vary. It always has the same value when measured over time and che same value as measured by every observer. ‘We often describe distances to stars and galaxies using a unit of time. These distances we measure in light-years. One light-year equals che distance that lighe travels in one year. Along with the light-year of space goes the yea of time, Here again, space and time are measured inthe same units — years. Here again the speed of lights the conversion factor between measutes of time and space. From our everyday per- spective one lighe-year of space is quite large, almost 10,000 million million meters: 1 light-year = 9,460,000,000,000,000 mecers = 0.946 X 10 meters. Nevertheless it is a convenient unit for measuring distance beeween stars. For example, the nearest stat t0 our Sun, Proxima Centauri, les 4.28 light-years away. ‘Any common unit of space of time may be used as the same unit For both space and time, For example, Table 1-5 gives us another convenient measure of time, seconds, compared with time in meters. We can also measure space in the same units, light-seconds. Our Sun is 499 light-seconds— or, more simply, 499 seconds—of clistance from Earth, Seconds are convenient for describing diseances and times among events that span the solar system. Alternatively we could use minutes of time and light-minutes of distance: Our Sun is 8.32 light-minutes from Barth, We can also use hours of time and light-hours of distance. In all cass, the speed of light is che conversion factor between units of space and time.1.4 SAME UNIT FOR SPACE AND TIME: METER, SECOND, MINUTE, OR YEAR SOME LIGHT-TRAVEL TIMES ‘Time im conde of ighe-traral time Time in meter ‘Telephone call one way: [New York Gay to San Fandico 0.0138 4,139,000 via surface microwave ink Telephone call ne way: New York Cicy to San Bancisco 0.197 9,000,000 vis Fath suelie ‘Telephone all one wy: [New York Giy 0 San Francisca 231 752,000,000 bounced off Moon lash of igh ited by Sun, 4990 149,600,000,000, recrived on Fath Expressing time and space in the same unit meter is convenient for describing ‘motion of high-speed particles in the confines of the laboratory. Time and space in che same unit second (or minute of hour) is convenient for describing relations among, events in our solar system. Time and space in the same uni year is convenient for describing relations among stars and among galaxies. In all chree arenas spacetime is the stage and special relaivty is the spotlight that illuminates the innec workings of Nature. ‘We are noe accustomed to measuring time in meters. o asa reminder to ourselves wwe add a desripcor: mecers of High-sravel rime. But the unt of imeis stil the meee. Simitarly, the added words seconds of distance” and "Fght-years" help ro remind ts that diteance is measured in seconds or years, units we usually associate with time, ‘Buc chs unie of distance i really just second of year. The modifying descripors are for out convenience ooly. ko Nature, space and time form a unity: spacetime! ‘The words sound OK. The mathematics appears straightforward. Tbe Sample Problems nem logical. But the ideas are 30 serange! Why should I belive them? How can invariance ofthe inserval be proved? No wonder these ideas seem strange. Particles zooming by at neatly the speed of light —how far this is ftom our everyday experience! Even the soaring jet plane crawls along a¢ less chan one-millionth lightspeed. Isic so surpeising chat the woeld appears different at speeds a million times faster than those at which we ordinarily _move wich respect co Earth? ‘The notion of spacetime interval disillsa weath of eal experience, We begin with incerval because i endures: Ie iluminates observations that range from the core of a nucleus «0 the center of 2 black hole. Understand the spacetime interval and you vault, ina single bound, o the heare of spacetime. CChaprer 3 presents 2 logical proof of the invariance ofthe interval. Chapter 4 reports a knock-down argument about it. Chapters chat follow describe many ‘experiments whose outcomes are totally incomprehensible unless the interval is invariant, Real verification comes daily and hourly in the on-going enterprise of| experimental physics. we a 13 Use convenient units, the some for space and time14 HAPTER SPACETIME: OVERVIEW SAMPLE PROBLEM 1-2 PROTON, ROCK, AND STARSHIP Or fe A proton moving at 3/4 light speed (with respect to the laboratory) passes through two detectors 2 meters apart. Events 1 and 2 are the cransits through the two dececrors, What are che laboratory space and time separations berween the two events, in mecers? What are the space and time separations between the events in the proton frame? b. Aspeeding rock from space streaks through Earth’s outer atmosphere, creating a short fiery tral (Event 1) and continues on its way to crash into Sun (Event 2) 10 ‘minuces later as observed in che Earth frame. Take Sun to be 1.4960 X 10! ‘eters from Earth, In the Earth frame, what are space and time separations between Event 1 and Event 2 in minutes? What are space and time separations between the events in the frame of the tock? «e In the owenty-third century a starship leaves Earth (Event 1) and travels at 95 percent light speed, later arriving at Proxima Centauri (Event 2), which lies 4.3 light-years from Earch. Whae are space and time separations becween Event 1 and vent 2 as measured in the Earth frame, in years? What are space and time separations becween these events in the frame of the starship? SOLUTION 4. ‘The space separation measured in the laboratory equals 2 meter, as given inthe problem. A fash of light would cake 2 meters of lighttravel time to travel becween the two detectors, Something moving at 1/4 light speed would take four times as long: 2 meters/(1/4) = 8 meters of light-travel time to travel fom one detector to the other. The proton, moving at 3/4 light speed, takes 2 meters/ 6/4) = 8/3 mecers = 2.66667 meers of light-travel time between events a ‘measured in the laboratory. ‘Event 1 and Event 2 both occur a¢ the position of the proton. Therefore the space separation between the two evencs equals zero in the proton frame. This ‘means that the spacetime interval— the proper time —equals the time between evens in che proton frame. (proton time)? — (proton discance)? = (interval)? = (lab time)? — (lab distance)? (proton time)? — (zero)? = (2.66667 meters)* — (2 meters)? (7AM = 4) (onerers)* (proton time)? = 3.1111 (meters)? So time between events in the proton frame equals the square root of this, or 1.764 meters of time. b. Light eravels 60 times as far in one minute as it does in one second, Its speed in meters per minute is therefore: 2.99792458 X 108 meters/second X 60 seconds/minute = 1.798754748 X 10! meters/minute So the distance from Earth ro Sun is 1.4960 X 10" mecers 758754748 X10 merers/minare 9169 Hgheminuees1.5. UNITY OF SPACETIME ‘This is the distance between the wo events in the Earth frame, measured in lighe-minutes, The Earth-frame time between the two events is 10 minutes, as stated in the problem. Tn the frame traveling with the rock, the ewo events occur atthe same place; the time between the rwo events in this frame equals the spacetime interval—the proper time—beeween these events: incerval)? = (10 minutes)? — (8.3169 minutes)? = (100 ~ 69.1708) (minuces)? 30.8292 (minutes? ‘The time beeween events in the rest frame of the rock equals the square root of this, oF 5.5524 minutes. €. The distance berween departure from Earth and arrival at Proxima Centauti is 4.3 light-years, as given in the problem, The staship moves at 95 percene lighe speed, or 0.95 light-years/year. Therefore ic rakes atime 4.3 light-years/(0.95 light-years/yeat) = 4.53 years to arrive at Proxima Centauri, as measured in the Earth frame. Starship time between departure from Earth and arrival at Proxima Centauri equals che interval: (ncerval)? = (4.53 years)? — (4.3 yeats)® 20.52 — 18.49) (years)? 03 (years)? ‘The time between events in the rest frame ofthe starship equals the square root of this, or 1.42 years. Compare with the value 4.53 years as measured in the Barth frame. This example ilhistrates the farnous idea that astronaut wristwatch time — proper time —between two events is less than the time between these events measured by any other observer in relative motion. Travel to stay young! This resule comes simply and nacurally from the invariance of the interval 15 1.5 UNITY OF SPACETIME time and space: equal footing but distinct nature ‘When time and space are measured in the same unit— whether meter or second ot year—the expression for the square of the spacetime interval between two events cakes on a particularly simple form: Box {nome vit for tne ond space ‘This formula shows forth che unity of space and time. Impressed by this unity, Einstein's teacher Hermann Minkowski (1864-1909) wrore his famous words, “Henceforth space by itself, and time by itself, ae doomed to fade away into mere shadows, and only a union ofthe ewo will preserve an independent reality.” Today this union of space and time is called spacetime. Spacetime provides the true theater for Spacetime is a unityBOX 1-1 from distance DISCUSSION Location morker General name for such a location marker Canits location be staked out for all to see, independent of any scheme ‘of measurement, and independent of all numbers? ‘Simple descriptor of separation between two location markers Are there ways directly to measure this separation? With enough markers alread) staked out, how can we tell som fone where we want the next one? Instead of boldly stoking out the new marker, or instead of position- ing it relative to existing markers, how else can we place the new marker? Nature of this reference frame? Is such a reference frame unique? How do two such reference frames differ from one another? ‘What are names of two such possi- What common unit sis of the results? What is the conversion factor from conventional units to meters? CHAPTER 1 ‘SPACETIME: OVERVIEW PAYOFF OF THE PARABLE space to interval in spacetime SURVEYING TOWNSHIP Steel stake driven in ground Point or place Yes Distance Yes from other Specify distance: points. By locating point relative to arefer- ence frame Surveyor's grid yields northward ‘and eastward readings of point {Chapter 1). No Tilt of one surveyor's grid relative to the other Daytime grid: oriented to magnetic north Nighttime grid: oriented to North- Stor north The unit meter for both northward cond eastward readings Converting miles to meters: k= 1609.344 metersir ANALYZING NATURE Collision between two particles Emission of flash from atom Spark jumping from antenna to pen Event Yes Spacetime interval Yes Specify spacetime intervals from other events. By locating event relative to a ref ‘erence frame Lattice frame of rods and clocks yields space and fime readings of event (Chapter 2). No Uniform velocity of one frame rela- tive to the other Laboratory frame Rocket frame The unit meter for both space and time readings Converting seconds tometers using the speed of light: 299,792,458 meters/second1.5 UNITY OF SPACETIME 1.7 DISCUSSION SURVEYING TOWNSHIP ‘ANALYZING NATURE For convenience, all measurements A common origin (center of town) A common event (reference spark) are referred to what location? How do readings for a single Individual northward andeastward Individual space and time readings marker differ between two refer- readings for one point—for one for one event—for one spark — cence frames? steel stake—donot have the same do not have the same values re- Values respectively for two survey- spectively for two frames that are in ors’ grids that are tilted relative fo motion relative to one another. one another. When we change from one marker Subtract: Figure the difference be- Subtract: Figure the difference be- totwo, how dowespecifytheoffset_ tween eastward readings of the tween space readings of the two between them in reference-frame two points; also the difference in events; also the difference in time language? northward readings. readings. How to figure from offset readings Figure the distance between the Figure the spacetime interval be- {a measure of separation that has two points. tween the two events. the same value whatever the choice of reference frame? Figure how? distance} {interval}? = ( difference in y difference in \? northward readings fime readings, +( difference in y —(_ difference in )? eastward readings, space readings Pe 9 Rosult of this reckoning? Distance between points as figured Interval between events as figured from readings using one surveyor's from readings using one lattice- grid is the same os figured from work frame is the same as figured readings usinga second surveyor's from readings using a second grid tilted with respect to first grid. frame in steady straight-line motion relative to frst frame. Invariance of the spacetime inter- val between events. Phrase to summarize this identity of separation as figured in two refer- ence frames? Conclusions from this analysis? (1) Northword and eastward di- (1) Space and time dimensions are ns are part ofa single entity: part of a single entity: spacetime. (2) Distance is the simple measure (2) Spacetime interval is the simple of separation between two points, measure of separation between natural because invariant: the same two events, natural because invar- for different surveyor grids. iant: the same for different refer- ence frames.18 Difference between ‘time and space HAPTER 1 SPACETIME: OVERVIEW ‘every event in the lives of stars, atoms, and people. Space is different for different observers. Time is different for different observers. Spacetime is the seme for everyone. ‘Minkowski’ insight is cenral o the understanding ofthe physical world I focuses attention on those quantities, such as spacetime interval, electrical charge, and particle ‘mass, that are ehe same for all observes in relative motion. It brings out the merely relative character of quantities such as velocity, momencum, energy, separation in time, and separation in space that depend on relative motion of observers. ‘Today we have leamed not to overstate Minkowski argument. It is right to say that ime and space are inseparable parts of a larger unity. It is wrong to say that time is identical in quality with space. Why is i wrong? Is not time measured in meters, just as space is? In relating the positions of wo steal stakes driven into the ground, does nat tbe surveyor measure northward and eastward sparations, quantities of identical physical character? By canalygy, in lecating tuo events isnot the oberver measuring quantities of the same nature: space and time separations? How else could it be legitimate so teas these quantities on am equal footing, asin tbe forma for the interval? Equal footing, yes; same nature, no. These is a minus sign in che formula for the ineerval squared = (cme separation)* — (space separation}? that no sleigh« of hand can ever conjure away. This minus sign distinguishes between space and time. No ‘wating or taming can ever give the same sign to real space and time separations in the exprestion for the inerval a ‘The invariance of the spacetime interval evidences the unity of space and time while also preserving—in the formula’s minus sign —¢he distinction berween the two. ‘The principles of special relativity are remarkably simple—simpler chan the axioms of Euclidean geometry or the principles of operating an automobile. Yet both Eaclid and the automobile have been mastered — pethaps with insufficient surprise —by generations of ordinary people. Some ofthe best minds of the ewentieth ceneury struggled with the concepts of relativity, not because nature is obscure, but because (1) ‘people find i dffcule to outgrow established ways of looking at nature, and (2) the ‘world of che very fast described by relativity isso far from common experience that ‘everyday happenings are of limited help in developing an intuition forts descriptions. ‘By now we have won the battle co put relativity in understandable form. The concepes of relativity can now be expressed simply enough co make it easy co ink correctly —"‘to make the bad difficult and the good easy.” This leaves only che second dlificalty, hat of developing intuition—a practiced way of seeing, We understand dliscance intuitively from everyday expetience. Box 1.1 applies our intuition for diseance in space to help our intuition for interval in spacetime. To put so much into so litte, to subsume all of Finstein’s teaching on light and. motion in the single word spacetime, is to cram a wealth of ideas into a small picnic basker thae we shall be unpacking throughout che remainder ofthis book. <= REFERENCES Introductory quote: Richard P. Feynman, The Character of Physical Law (MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1967), page 127 ‘Quote from Minkowski in Section 1.5: H. A. Minkowski, “Space and Time,” in HLA. Lorentz etal, The Principle of Relativity (Dover Publications, New York, 1952), page 75.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS = 19. ‘Quote at end of Section 1.5: ‘wo make the bad diffcule and the good easy,” ‘rend Jemal dificile etl bien facile.” Finstein, in a similar connection, ina letter to the architect Le Corbusier. Private communication from Le Corbusier. For an appreciation of Albert Einstein, sce John Archibald Wheeler, “Albert Einstein,” in The World Treasury of Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics, Tisno- thy Ferts, ed. (Little, Brown, New York, 1991), pages 563-576. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ‘Many students in many classes have read through sequential versions ofthis text, shared with us their detailed difficulties, and given us advice. We asked srudents 0 write down comments, perplexities, and questions as they read and eurn in hese reading memos for personal response by the teacher. Italicized objections in the exc come, in par, from chese commentators. Both we who write and you who read are in their debt. Some readers not in classes have also been immensely helpful; among these we especially acknowledge Steven Bartlett. No one could hhave read the chapters more meticulously than Etic Sheldon, whose wide know!- edge has enriched and clarified the presentation, William A. Shurcliff has been immensely inventive in devising new ways of viewing the consequences of relativ- ity; afew of these are specifically acknowledged in later chapters Elecronic-mail courses using this text brought a flood of comments and reading memos from teachers and students around the world. Richard C. Smith originated, organized, and administered these courses, for which we are very grateful. The clarity and simplicity of both the English and the physics were improved by Penny Hill ‘Some passages in this text, both bref and extended, have been adapted from the book A Journey into Gravity and Spacetime by John Atchibald Wheeler (W.H. Freeman, New York, 1990). In eur, certain passages in thac book were adapted from earlier drafts of the present text. We have also used passages, logical arguments, and figures from the book Gravitation by Charles W. Misner, Kip S. ‘Thotne, and John Archibald Wheeler (W. H. Freeman, New York, 1973). INTRODUCTION TO THE EXERCISES TImporeant areas of cutene research can be analyzed exercises and problems in this text evoke a wide range very simply using the theory ofrelativiey. This analy- of physical consequences of the properties of space sis depends heavily on a physical inition, which time. These properties of spacetime recur here over develops with experience, Wide experience isnoceasy and over again in different contexts: ¢0 obtain in the laboratory—simple experiments in. doves relativity are difficult and expensive because the speed Lao fight isso great. As altematives toexperimens, he * puzzles20 EXERCISE 1-1 + derivations * technical applications + experimencal resules + estimates + precise calculations + philosophical difficulties ‘The text presents all formal rools necessary to solve these exercises and problems, bus intuition —a prac- ticed way of seeing—is bese developed without hurry. For this reason we suggest continuing o do ‘ore and mote ofthese exercises in relativity after you have moved on to matetial outside this book. The ‘mathematical manipulations in the exercises and problems are very brief: only afew answers take more COMPARING SPEEDS than five lines to write down, On the other hand, the ‘exercises requite some “rumination time."” Tn some chapters, exercises are divided into «wo categories, Practice and Problems. The Practice exer- ses help you to get used to ideas in the text, The Problems apply these ideas to physical systems, thought experiments, and paradoxes, [WHEELER'S FIRST MORAL PRINCIPLE: Never make «4 calculation until you know the answer. Make 20. estimate before every calculation, er a simple physical argument (symmetry! invariance! conservation!) be- fore every derivation, guess the answer to every para ox and puzzle. Courage: No one else needs co know what the guess is. Therefore make it quickly, by instinct. A tight guess reinforces this instince. A wrong guess brings the refreshment of surprise. In ether case life asa spacetime expert, however long, is more fun! CHAPTER 1 EXERCISES PRACTICE 1 comparing speeds ‘Compare the speeds of an automobile, ajet plane, an Earth satellite, Earth in its orbit around Sun, and a pulse of light. Do this by comparing che relative distance each travels ina fixed time. Arbitrarily choose the fixed time to give convenient distances, A car driving at the USA speed limit of 65 miles/hour ((105 kilometers /hout) covers 1 meter of distance in about 35 milliseconds = 35 X 107 second. How far does a commercial jetliner go in 35 milliseconds? (speed: 650 miles/hour = 1046 keilometes/hout) b How far does an Earth satellite go in 35 milli- seconds? (speed: 17,000 miles/hour * 27,350 kilometers /hout) © How far does Earth travel in its orbit around Sun in 35 milliseconds? (speed: 30 kilometers/se- cond) How far does a lighe pulse go in a vacuum in 35 milliseconds? (speed: 3 X 10* meters /second). This distance is roughly how many times the distance from Boston co San Francisco (5000 kilometers)? 1-2 images from Neptune ‘Ac 9:00 P.a. Pacific Daylight Time on August 24, 1989, the planetary probe Veyager II passed by the planet Neprune. Images ofthe planet were coded and transmitted to Earth by microwave relay. Te took 4 hours and 6 minutes for this microwave signal to travel from Nepeune to Earth. Microwaves (lectromagnetic radiation, like light, but of fre- quency lower chan that of visible lighd),wihen propa gating through intesplanetary space, move at the “standard” lightspeed of one mete of distance in one meter of light-travel time, of 299,792,458 mecers/ second. In the following, neglect any relative motion among Earth, Nepeune, and Voyager I. @ Calculate the discance becween Earth and “Nepeune at fy-by in units of minutes, seconds, years, meters, and kilometers. 1b Calculate the time the microwave signal takes to reach Earth. Use the same units as in part a. 1-3 units of spacetime Light moves at speed of 3.0 X 108 meters/second. One mile is approximately equal co 1600 meters. (One furlong is approximately equal co 200 meters.EXERCISE 1-6 How many meters of time in one day? How many seconds of distance in one mile? ‘How many hours of distance in one furlong? How many weeks of distance in one light-year? How many furlongs of time in one hour? a b « d e fime stretching spacetime interval ‘A rocket lock emits two flashes of light and the rocket observer records the time lapse (in seconds) beeween these ewo flashes. The laboratory observer records the time separation (in seconds) and space separation (in light-seconds) between the same pair of flashes. The results for both laboratory and rocket observers are recorded in the first line of the table ‘Now a dock in a different rocket, moving at « different speed with respect to the laboratory, emis @ different pair of flashes. The set of laboratory and rocker space and time separations are recorded on the ‘SPACE AND TIME SEPARATIONS Rocker Laboratory Laboratory time lapse time lapse ‘dcance Geconds) —__Greonds) Example 20 2» 072 395 ns 834 2 658 MAPMAKING IN SPACE 21. second line of the table. And so on. Complete the ‘able. where and when? ‘Two firecrackers explode at the same place in the laboratory and are separated by a time of 3 years as ‘measured on a laboratory clock. @ Whatis the spatial distance berween these two ‘events in a rocket in which the events are separated in time by 5 years as measured on rocker clocks? 1b What is the relative speed of the rocket and laboratory frames? 1-6 mapmaking in space ‘The table shows distances between cities. The units are kilometers. Assume all cities lie on the same flat plane. @ Usearulerand.a compass (the kind of compass that makes circles) ro construct a map of these cities. ‘Choose a convenient scale, such as one centimeter on. the map cocresponds to ten kilometers on Earth. Discussion: How to start? With three arbitrary decisions! (1) Choose any city to beat the center ofthe map. (2) Choose any second city to be "due north” thats, along any arbitrary direction you select. (3) ven with these choices, there are two places you can locate the third city; choose either of these ewo places acbitraily, b If you rotate the completed map in its own pplane—for example, curing ie while keeping i flat ‘on the table —does the resulting map also satisfy the dlistance entries above? € Hold up your map between you and a light, ‘with the masks on the side of the paper facing the EXERCISE 1-6 DISTANCES BETWEEN CITIES way fiom cry 283 200 rOmmooe> D 447 400 60.0 200 na 366 447 200 400 447 447 200 283 447 366 400 283 200 400 283 “a7 409 366 20022 EXERCISE 1-7 light. Does the map you see from the back also satisfy the table entries? ‘Discussion: In this exercise you use a table con- sisting only of distances berween pairs of cities to construct a map of these cities from the poine of view of a surveyor using a given direction for north. In Exercise 5-3 you use a table consisting only of space- time intervals between pairs of events co draw a “spacetime map” of these events from the point of view of one free-float observer. Exercise 1-7 previews this kind of spacetime map, 1-7 spacetime map ‘The laboratory space and time measurements of events 1 through 5 are plocte in the figure. Compute the value of che spacetime interval ‘a becween event 1 and event 2. 1b becween event 1 and event 3. € between event 1 and event 4, d_beeween event I and event 5. © A rocket moves with constant velocity from event I to event 2. Thats, events 1 and 2 occur at the same place in this rocket frame. What time lapse is recorded on the rocket dock between these two events? o123 4567 — space (meters) EXERCISE 1-7. Spacetime map of sme evens PROBLEMS 1-8 size of a computer Jn one second some deskrop computers can carry out ‘ne million instructions in sequence. One instruction might be, for instance, mulsiplying ewo numbers to- ‘gether. In rechnical jargon, such a computer operates at “one megaflop.” Assume chat carrying out one ‘SPACETIME MAP inseruction requires transmission of data from the memory (where data i stored) to the processor (where the computation is carried out) and eransmission of the result back co the memory for storage. @ What is the maximum average distance be~ tween memory and processor in a “‘one-megafiop” computer? Is this maximum distance increased ot decreased ifthe signal travels through conductors at ‘one half the speed of light in a vacuum? b Computers are now becoming available that ‘operate at “one gigaflop,” that is, chey carry out 10? sequential instructions per second. What isthe maxi- ‘mum average distance berween memory and proces- sor in a “one-gigaflop” machine? € Estimate the overall maximum sizeof a “one- teraflop” machine, cha is, a computer that can carry ‘out 10" sequential instructions per second. d__ Discussion question: In contrast with most current personal compurers, a “parallel processing” computer contains several or many processors that ‘work together on a computing task. One might think that a machine with 10,000 processors would com- plete given compucation task in 1/10,000 the time. However, many computational problems cannot be divided up in this way, and in any case some fraction of the computing capacity must be devoted to coordi nating the team of processors. What limits on physi- cal size does the speed of light impose on a parallel processing computer? 1-9 trips to Andromeda by rocket ‘The Andromeda galaxy is approximately two million light-years distant from Earth as measured in the Enrth-linked frame. Is it possible for you co travel from Farth to Andromeda in your ifesime? Sneak up ‘on the answer to chis question by considering a series of trips from Earth to Andromeda, each one faster than the one before. For simplicity, assume the Earch- ‘Andromeda distance to be exactly two million light- years in the Each frame, treat Earth and Andromeda 4s points, and neglect any relative motion beoween Earth and Andromeda, @ TRIP 1. Your one-way trip takes time 2.01 X 10 years (measured in the Earth-linked frame) to cover the distance of 2.00 X 10 light-years. How long does the trip last as measured in your rocket frame? Whar is your rocker speed on Trip 1 ss mea- sured in the Earth-linked frame? Express cis speed as ‘decimal fraction of the speed of light. Call this fraction, » = tge/é, WhETE tay i speed in conven tional units, such as meters/second. Discussion: If your rocket moves at half the speed of ligt, it takes4X 108 years to cover the distance 2 106 lighe- years. In this case y= 2X 106 ligheyears _ 1 4X 105 yeas 2 Therefore € TRIP 2. Your one-way Earth-Andromeda ip takes 2.001 X 10 years as measured in the Earch- linked frame. How long does the trip ast as measured in your rocket frame? What is your rocket speed for ‘Trip 2, expressed as decimal fraction ofthe speed of lighe? d_TRW 3. Now set the rocker time for the one- ‘way trip to 20 years, which all che time you want co spend getting to Andromeda. In this case, what is your speed as a decimal fraction of the speed of ight? Discussion: Solutions to many exercises in this text are simplified by using the following approximation, ‘hich isthe first cwo terms in the binomial expansion GQty~ite if bl<<1 Here m can be positive or negative, a fraction or an integer; 2 can be positive or negative, a8 long as is ‘magnitude is very much smaller chan unity. This approximation can be used cwice in the solution to pared. 0 trip to Andromeda by Transporter In the Star Trek series a so-called Transporter is used ‘to “beam” people and their equipment from a star- ship to the surface of nearby planets and back. The ‘Transporter mechanism is noe explained, bur it ap- pears to work only locally. (IF ie could transport to ‘emote locations, why bother with the starship at all?) Assume that one thousand years from now a Trans- porter exists that reduces people and things to data (elementary bits of information) and transmits the data by light or radio signal to remote locations. There a Receiver uses the data to reassemble travelers and. thei equipment out of local raw materials. (One of your descendants, named Samantha, isthe firs “‘eransporternaut’” to be beamed from Earth to the planet Zitcon orbiting a star in the Andromeda ‘Nebula, ewo million light-years from Eareh. Neglect any relative motion berween Earth and Zircon, and assume: (1) transmission produces a Samantha iden- tical to the original in every respect (except that she is 2 million light-years from home!), and (2) the time required for disassembling Samantha on Earth and reassembling her on Zircon is negligible as measured TIME STRETCHING WITH -MESONS 2:3, in the common rest frame of Transporrer and Re- @ How much does Samantha age during her ‘outward trip to Zircon? b Samantha collects samples and makes obser- ‘vations of the Zitconian civilization for one Earth- year, then beams back to Earth. How much has Sa- ‘mantha aged during her entie trip? € How much older is Earth and its civilization ‘when Samantha recom? Earth has been taken over by a cyrant, who wishes to invade Zircon, He sends one warrior and has him duplicated inco attack bacealions at the Receiver end, How long will che Earth tyrant have to wait t0 discover whether his ambition has been satisfied? © Asecond transporrernaut is beamed toa much more remote galaxy that is moving away from Earch at 87 percent ofthe speed of light. This time, coo, the traveler stays in the remote galaxy for one year as measured by clocks moving with the galaxy before re- ‘uming to Earth by Transporter. How much has the transportemnaut aged when she arives back at Earth? (Careful!) 1 time stretching with muons Acheights of 10 0 60 kilometers above Earth, cosmic ‘ays continually strike nucle of oxygen and nitrogen atoms and produce muons (muons: elementary parti- cles of mass equal to 207 electron masses produced in some nuclear reactions). Some of the muons move vertically downward with a speed nearly chat of light. Follow one of the muons on its way down. Ina given sample of muons, half of them decay to other ele- mentary particles in 1.5 microseconds (1.5 X 10-6 seconds), measured with respect to a reference frame jn which they are a rest. Half of the remainder decay in the next 1.5 microseconds, and so on. Analyze the results of this decay as observed in ewo different frames. Idealize che rather complicated actual experi= ‘ment to the following roughly equivalent situation: All the muons are produced at the same heighe (60 kilometers; all have the same speed; all eravel straight down; none are lost co collisions with air molecules on the way down. @ Approximately how long a time will ic take these muons to reach the surface of Earth, as mea- sured in. the Eareh frame? b If che decay time were the same for Earth observers as for an observer traveling with the muons, approximately how many half-lives would have passed? Therefore what fraction of those created at a hheighe of 60 kilometers would remain when they