PHYS105 BSED 3B PS1 Questionnaire

To be submitted on 2/24/2023

Consequences of the Special Theory of Relativity

1. A muon formed high in the Earth’s atmosphere is measured by an observer on the Earth’s surface to
travel at speed v = 0.990c for a distance of 4.60 km before it decays into an electron, neutrino and an
antineutrino.
a. For what time interval does the muon live as measured in its reference frame?
b. How far does the Earth travel as measure in the frame of the muon?
2. A deep-space vehicle moves away from the Earth with a speed of 0.800c. An astronaut on the vehicle
measures a time interval of 3.00 s to rotate her body through 1.00 rev as she floats in the vehicle. What
time interval is required for this rotation according to an observer on the Earth.
3. For what value of v does γ = 1.01000? Observer that for speeds lower than this value, time dilation and
length contraction are effects amounting to less than 1%.
4. A spacecraft with a proper length of 300 m passes by an observer on the Earth. According to this observer,
it takes 0.750 μs for the spacecraft to pass a fixed point. Determine the speed of the spacecraft as
measured by the Earth-based observer.
5. A cube of steel has a volume of 1.00 cm3 and a mass 8.00 g when at rest on the Earth. If this cube is now
given a speed of u = 0.900c, what is its density as measured by a stationary observer? Note that relativistic
density is defined as ER/c2V.

The Lorentz Transformation Equations

6. Shannon observes two light pulses to be emitted from the same location, but separated in time by 3.00
μs. Kimmie observes the emission of the same two pulses to be separated in time by 9.00 μs.
a. How fast is Kimmie moving relative to Shannon?
b. According to Kimmie, what is the separation in space of the two pulses?

The Lorentz Velocity Transformation Equations

7. A jet of material being ejected by galaxy M87 are believed to be evidence of supermassive black holes at
the center of a galaxy. Suppose two jets of material from the center of the galaxy are ejected in opposite
directions. Both jets move at 0.750c relative to the galaxy center. Determine the speed of one jet relative
to the other.

Relativistic Linear Momentum

8. Calculate the momentum of an electron moving with a speed of

a. 0.0100c
b. 0.500c
c. 0.900c
9. Calculate the classical momentum of a proton traveling at 0.990c, neglecting relativistic effect. Repeat the
calculation while including relativistic effects. Does it make sense to neglect relativity at such speed?

Relativistic Energy

10. Protons in an accelerator at the Fermi National Laboratory near Chicago are accelerated to a total energy
that is 400 times their rest energy.
a. What is the speed of these protons in terms of c?
b. What is their kinetic energy in MeV?