Phy 104

Modern Physics

Solution
Assignment 2
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 Question 2: (c)

Let S 0 -frame moves with velocity v w.r.t S-frame, S 00 -frame moves with velocity v 0 w.r.t S 0 -frame and
S 00 -frame moves with velocity v 00 w.r.t S-frame.
Lorentz transformations to go from an S-frame to S 0 -frame are:

 vx 
t0 =γ t − 2 (1)
c
x0 =γ (x − vt) (2)

where,

1
γ=q
v2
1− c2

Similarly, Lorentz transformations to go from an S 0 -frame to S 00 -frame are:

v 0 x0
 
00 0 0
t =γ t − 2 (3)
c
x00 =γ 0 (x0 − v 0 t0 ) (4)

where,

1
γ0 = q
v 02
1− c2

Substituting equ.(1) and equ.(2) in equ.(3).

vx  γv 0
  
00 0
t =γ γ t − 2 − 2 (x − vt)
c c
vx v x v 0 vt
0
 
0
=γ γ t − 2 − 2 + 2
c c c
0
v + v0
    
0 1+vv
=γ γ t− x
c2 c2
1 + v0v v + v0
   
0 0
=γ γ t−γγ x (5)
c2 c2
Substituting equ.(1) and equ.(2) in equ.(4).

00 0
h vx i
0

x =γ γ (x − vt) − γv t − 2
 0
c
v vx
=γ 0 γ x − vt − v 0 t − 2
c
0
  
0 1+vv 0
=γ γ x − (v + v ) t
c2
1 + v0v
 
0
=γ γ x − γ 0 γ (v + v 0 ) t (6)
c2

As, we assumed that S 00 -frame moves with velocity v 00 w.r.t S-frame.Lorentz transformations to go from
an S-frame to S 00 -frame are:

 vx 
t00 =γ 00 t − 2
c
00 00 vx
=γ t − γ 2 (7)
c
x00 =γ 00 (x − vt)

=γ 00 x − γ 00 vt (8)

where,

1
γ 00 = q
v 002
1− c2

Comparing this (equ.(7) and equ.(8)) to the double transformation (equ.(5) and equ.(6)), we see that
in order for them to be equivalent, the coefficients must match.

1 + v0v
 
0
γγ 2
= γ 00
c
v + v0
 
0 v
γγ 2
= γ 00 2
c c
0
 
1+vv
γ 0γ = γ 00
c2
γ 0 γ (v + v 0 ) = γ 00 vt

It is obvious that all of these equations are redundant. Let us take the first one, expand and solve for
v 00 .

1 + v0v
 
00 0
γ =γγ
c2
1 + v0v
 
1 1 1
q =q ·q ·
1− v 002
1− v 02
1 − vc2
2 c2
c2 c2
2
1 + v0v

1 1 1
002 = 02 · 2 ·
1 − vc2 1 − vc2 1 − vc2 c2
2
v 002 c2

1 1
1− 2 = 02 · 2 ·
c 1 − vc2 1 − vc2 1 + v0v
v
v2 v 02
u


u 1 − 2 · 1 − 2 c2
v 00 = tc2 − c c
1+v 0 v 2


c2
s
v 02 v 2


c2 − v 2 − v 02 + c2
v 00 = c2 − v 02 v 2 v0 v
1+ c4
+ 2 c2

Simplifying the above equation, we obtain:

00 v + v0
v = 0
1 + vc2v
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Question 5:
(a)
In classical physics, momentum is defined as:
𝑝⃗ = 𝑚𝑣⃗
However, relativistic momentum is defined as:
𝑝⃗ = 𝛾𝑚𝑣⃗
Force is defined as the time derivative of momentum.
𝑑𝑝⃗
𝐹⃗ =
𝑑𝑡
𝑑(𝛾𝑚𝑣⃗)
=
𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝛾 𝑑𝑣
= 𝑚𝑣 + 𝛾𝑚
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡
1
−
𝑑 𝑣2 2
= 𝑚𝑣 [(1 − 2 ) ] + 𝛾𝑚𝑎
𝑑𝑡 𝑐
3
−
1 𝑣2 2 −2𝑣 𝑑𝑣
= 𝑚𝑣 [− (1 − 2 ) × ( 2 ) × ] + 𝛾𝑚𝑎
2 𝑐 𝑐 𝑑𝑡
3
−
𝑣 𝑣2 2
= 𝑚𝑣 [ 2 (1 − 2 ) × 𝑎] + 𝛾𝑚𝑎
𝑐 𝑐

𝑣2
= 𝑚𝑎 𝑐2 + 𝛾𝑚𝑎
3
+
𝑣2 2
[ (1 − 𝑐2
) ]
𝑣2
= 𝑚𝑎 𝑐2 + 𝛾𝑚𝑎
𝑣2 𝑣2
(1 − 2 ) × √(1 − 2 )
[ 𝑐 𝑐 ]
2
𝑣
= 𝛾𝑚𝑎 𝑐2 + 𝛾𝑚𝑎
𝑣2 𝑣2
(1 − 2 ) × √(1 − 2 )
[ 𝑐 𝑐 ]
2
𝑣
= 𝛾𝑚𝑎 [ 𝑐2 + 1]
𝑣2
(1 − 2 )
𝑐
 𝑣2 𝑣2
2 + 1 −
= 𝛾𝑚𝑎 [ 𝑐 𝑐2 ]
𝑣 2
(1 − 2 )
𝑐

1
= 𝛾𝑚𝑎 [ ]
𝑣2
(1 − 2 )
𝑐
2
= 𝛾𝑚𝑎 × 𝛾
= 𝛾 3 𝑚𝑎
Hence, 𝐹 = 𝛾 3 𝑚𝑎 is the relativistically correct form of Newton’s Second Law.

(b)
We know that:
3
−
1 𝑣2 2
𝛾3 = = (1 − 2 )
𝑐
2 3
√(1 − 𝑣2 )
𝑐

When, 𝑣 ≪ 𝑐, we can expand it using the Taylor series and ignoring the higher order terms.

3
3 𝑣2
𝛾 ≈ (1 + ∙ 2 + ⋯ )
2 𝑐
Similarly,
1 𝑣2
𝛾 ≈ (1 + ∙ 2 + ⋯ )
2 𝑐
As,
𝐹 = 𝛾 3 𝑚𝑎
3 𝑣2
𝐹 ≈ 𝑚𝑎 (1 + ∙ 2 + ⋯ )
2 𝑐
3 𝑣2
𝐹 ≈ 𝑚𝑎 + 𝑚𝑎 ∙ ∙ 2
2 𝑐
𝑑𝑣
As, 𝑎 = , we can say that the above equation is up to third order in 𝑣, therefore, we can neglect
𝑑𝑡
the second term and we can write.
𝐹 ≈ 𝑚𝑎
As,
𝐾. 𝐸. = (𝛾 − 1)𝑚𝑐 2
Using the approximate value of 𝛾, for 𝑣 ≪ 𝑐, we can write:
1 𝑣2
𝐾. 𝐸. ≈ ((1 + ∙ 2 + ⋯ ) − 1) ∙ 𝑚𝑐 2
2 𝑐
1 𝑣2
≈ (1 + ∙ 2 − 1) ∙ 𝑚𝑐 2
2 𝑐
1
≈ 𝑚𝑣 2
2
(c)
This isn’t possible because:
 Nothing can travel faster than speed of light and it violate the principles of special
relativity. The speed of light is the fastest possible speed
 Any object with some mass needs an infinite amount of energy to reach the speed of
light. In order to accelerate an object, we need to use energy. The more massive (or
“heavier”) an object is, then the more energy it takes to accelerate it.
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 8:
Question 9:
They're both right!
When we say "the car is in the garage," we mean that all parts of it are inside at one instant of
time, but in view of the relativity of simultaneity, that's a condition that depends on the observer.
So what happens here?
The driver is correct to say he had crashed through the back wall of the garage by the time the
doorman shuts the door.
The doorman is also correct when he says that the back wall was intact by the time he closed the
door.
This seems to be a contradiction since from both statements one would conclude that the car
would and would have not crashed by the time the door was closed. It turns out this conclusion
would be wrong.
Suppose at the origin is the event “the driver has just reached the doorman and is about to enter
the garage”.
The above contradiction is because the expression “by the time the door was closed” means
different things to the driver and the doorman. Let the closing time for the doorman is t. Since,
the driver was moving, therefore the closing time of the gate is dilated in his frame. Therefore
the car can easily pass through the garage.
So, in short, the arguments of both driver and doorman are true, but they also consider their time
also.
 9:
Question 10:
Velocity of A relative to B is minus the velocity of B relative to A, so all entries below the
diagonal are trivial. Note that in every case 𝑣𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑡 < 𝑣𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑙𝑎𝑤𝑠 , so no matter how you look at it,
the bad guys get away.
We know that,
𝑢′ + 𝑣
𝑢=
𝑢′ 𝑣
1+ 2
𝑐
Velocity of Bullet relative to ground:
If 𝑢 is the velocity of bullet w.r.t ground, 𝑢′ is the velocity of bullet w.r.t police and 𝑣 is the
velocity of police car w.r.t ground, then
𝑢′ + 𝑣
𝑢=
𝑢′ 𝑣
1+ 2
𝑐
1 1
𝑐 +
𝑢= 3 2𝑐 = 5𝑐
1 1 7
1+ ×
3 2

Velocity of outlaws relative to police:

If 𝑢 is the velocity of outlaws w.r.t ground, 𝑢′ is the velocity of outlaws w.r.t police and 𝑣 is the
velocity of police car w.r.t ground, then
𝑢′ + 𝑣
𝑢=
𝑢′ 𝑣
1+ 2
𝑐
But, we need to find 𝑢′, therefore, we will use inverse Lorentz transformation, you calculated in
Q1.

𝑢−𝑣
𝑢′ =
𝑢′ 𝑣
1− 2
𝑐
3 1
𝑐 − 2𝑐 2
𝑢= 4 = 𝑐
3 1
1−4×2 5

Velocity of bullet relative to ground:

If 𝑢 is the velocity of bullet w.r.t ground, 𝑢′ is the velocity of bullet w.r.t outlaws and 𝑣 is the
velocity of outlaws w.r.t ground, then
 𝑢′ + 𝑣
𝑢=
𝑢′ 𝑣
1+ 2
𝑐
But, we need to find 𝑢′, therefore, we will use inverse Lorentz transformation, you calculated in
Q1.

𝑢−𝑣
𝑢′ =
𝑢′ 𝑣
1− 2
𝑐
5 3
𝑐 − 4𝑐 1
𝑢= 7 =− 𝑐
5 3 13
1−7×4

Let’s fill out the table now:

Speed of →
Ground Police Outlaws Bullet Do they escape?
Relative to ↓
1 3 5
Ground 0 𝑐 𝑐 𝑐 Yes
2 4 7
1 2 1
police − 𝑐 0 𝑐 𝑐 Yes
2 5 3
3 2 1
Outlaws − 𝑐 − 𝑐 0 − 𝑐 Yes
4 5 13
5 1 1
Bullet − 𝑐 − 𝑐 𝑐 0 Yes
7 3 13
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