Modern Physics - Lecture 13

The Interval, Space-Time

diagrams

Modern Physics, Lecture 13

 Events, space-time diagrams and world lines

The interval

Proper time

Modern Physics, Lecture 13

 In physics it is useful to define an event as happening at a
particular place (x,y,z) and at a particular time (t).

Let us consider a train travelling from station P to another

station R, stopping at station Q on the way. It leaves
station P at 10am, and arrives at station R at 11am.

We are going to assume the train has a pointer attached to

its front, and travels in a straight line (the x-axis)

x
Modern Physics, Lecture 13
 World-line for train
t
journey
11
We can draw a space-time
diagram showing the position
(x) of the train’s pointer as a
function of time (t)
The curve in the diagram is
called the world-line of the
10 x
pointer
P Q R

Modern Physics, Lecture 13

 Because space and time are interlinked in
Special Relativity, it is sometimes useful to
consider events on a space-time diagram t
This idea was introduced by Hermann
Minkowski in 1907
By convention we plot space (x) on the x-
axis and time (t) on the y-axis
Sometimes the y-axis is ct rather than just t
What do straight lines represent on a
space-time diagram?
How would we plot something that is
not moving (stationary)?
Where should we put the world-line for
a photon, moving at v=c? x

Modern Physics, Lecture 13

 t

v=c
Future

Nowhere Nowhere x

Past

Modern Physics, Lecture 13

 Where should the x’ and t’ axes of
frame S’ go?
For the t’ axis x’=0 so t t´

(a,b) v=c
For the x’ axis t’=0
b (a´,b´)
b´
Space-Time diagrams like this also
allow us to see visually x´
Length contraction
Non-simultaneity of events
a´
a x
Modern Physics, Lecture 13
 Non simultaneity

Modern Physics, Lecture 13

 We can write the momentum in SR as p=mv

This can be written in the form

Some consequences of this equation

Photons have momentum, although they have no

rest mass. What is the expression for a photon’s
momentum?

Modern Physics, Lecture 13

 We saw in the derivation of the Lorentz transformations that for a point on the
surface of an expanding sphere of light we could write

Thus we can write

The quantity is called the interval Ds.

But Ds= Ds´

The interval is an example of a Lorentz invariant

For a photon, Ds=0 (since the speed of light is the same for all observers, there is no
transformation to a reference system in which a photon is at rest)

Modern Physics, Lecture 13

 We can define a quantity dt as

dt is the minimum time interval between two events, and is the time interval as measured
by an ideal clock at rest relative to the two events

t is called the proper time and is Lorentz invariant

The time interval dt in some other inertial frame is just related to the proper time interval
dt via

Modern Physics, Lecture 13