Relativity II

Relativity II

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 Relativity II

Relativistic Mechanics

Mass, Energy, and Momentum

General Relativity

“In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by

everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact
opposite.”—P. A. M. Dirac

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 Relativity II

Linear Momentum
(Relativistic definition)

Consider a mass is moving with speed v in a rest

frame

Classically, p = mv , m = mass is constant and not

changing with its state of motion

Relativistically, p = gm0v

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 Relativity II

Relativistic Momentum
The basic conservation laws for momentum and energy can not
be violated due to relativity.

Newton’s equation for momentum (mv) must be changed as

follows to account for relativity.
Relativistic Momentum:

m
0v
p
1v c 2 2

mo is the proper mass, often called the rest mass. Note that
for large values of v, this equation reduces to Newton’s
equation.
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 Relativity II

Relativistic Momentum

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 Relativity II

Relativistic Mass
If momentum is to be conserved, the relativistic mass m must be
consistent with the following equation:

Relativistic mass:

m
m 0

1v2 c2

Note that as an object is accelerated by a resultant force, its

mass increases, which requires even more force. This means
that:

The
Thespeed
speedofoflight
lightisisan
anultimate
ultimatespeed!
speed!
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 Relativity II

Example :

The rest mass of an electron is 9.1 x 10-31 kg.

What is the relativistic mass if its velocity is 0.6c ?

m 0.8c
m 0

1v c 2 2 mo = 9.1 x 10-31 kg

-31 -31
9.1 x 10 kg 9.1 x 10 kg
m 
1  (0.6c) 2 c 2 0.36

m = 15.2 x 10-31 kg The mass has increased by 67% !

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 Relativity II

Mass and Energy

Prior to the theory of relativity, scientists considered mass
and energy as separate quantities, each of which must be
conserved.

Now mass and energy must be

considered as the same quantity.
We may express the mass of a
baseball in joules or its energy in
kilograms! The motion adds to the
mass-energy.

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 Relativity II

Relativistic Energy
 Recall the law of conservation of mechanical
energy you have studied in classical
mechanics:

Work done by external force on an object = the

change in kinetic energy of the object,
W=DK

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 Relativity II

DK = K2 - K1

K1 K2

F F

W=Fs Conservation of mechanical energy: W = DK

The total mechanical energy of the object, E = K + U. Ignoring
potential energy, E of the object is solely in the form of kinetic
energy. If K1 = 0, then E = K2. But in general, U also needs to be
taken into account for E. 10
 Relativity II

Force, work and kinetic energy

 When a force is acting on an object, O, at rest with
rest mass m0, it will get accelerated (say from rest)
to some speed (say u) and increase in kinetic
energy from 0 to K

K as a function of u can be derived from first principle

based on the definition of:

Force,F = dp/dt, 

work done, W =  F.dx
and conservation of mechanical energy, DK = W 11
 Relativity II

In classical mechanics, mechanical energy (kinetic +

potential) of an object is closely related to its momentum and
mass
Since in relativity we have redefined the classical mass and
momentum to that of relativistic version
mclass(cosnt) –> mR = m0g
pclass = mclass v–> pR = (m0g)v
we must also modify the relation between work and energy so
that the law conservation of energy is consistent with relativity

E.g, in classical mechanics, K = p2/2m = mv2/2. However, this

relationship has to be supplanted by the relativistic version K
=mv2/2 –> K = E – m0c2 = Mc2 - m0c2

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 Relativity II

Derivation of relativistic kinetic energy

Force = rate change of momentum

x2 x2 x2
dp  dp dx 
W   F dx   dx    dx
x1  0 x1  0
dt x1  0 
dx dt 
Chain rule in calculus

x2 u u
dp  dp du  dp
  udx    udx   udu
x1  0
dx 0
du dx  0
du
dx is the velocity of the object
where, by definition,
u
dt

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 Relativity II

Explicitly, p = gm0v,

Hence, dp/du = d/du(gm0v)

= m0 [u (dg/dv) + g ]
= m0 [g + (v2/c2) g3] = m0 (1-v2/c2)-3/2

in which we have inserted the relation

d d 1 u 1
 
u3

2 3/
2 2
du duu 2 c
u2
 c
1  2 
1
2


c c
 
3 / 2
u
 u2 
W  m0  u1  2  du


0 
c 




K
W
m
c
m
c
Mc
m
c 2222
0 0 0
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 
Relativity II


K
m
cm
c
Mc
mc 2 2 2 2
0 0 0

The relativisitic kinetic energy of an object of rest

mass m0 travelling at speed v
E0 = m0c2 is called the rest energy of the object. Its
value is a constant for a given object
Any object has non-zero rest mass contains energy
as per E0 = m0c2
One can imagine that masses are ‘energies frozen in
the form of masses’ as per E0 = m0c2
 E = mc2 is the total relativistic energy of a moving
object
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 Relativity II

 Or in other words, the total relativistic energy of a

moving object is the sum of its rest energy and its
relativistic kinetic energy

E  Mc  m0 c  K
2 2

The mass of a moving object m is larger

than its rest mass m0 due to the contribution
from its relativistic kinetic energy – this is a
pure relativistic effect not possible in
classical mechanics
E = mc2 relates the mass of an object to the
total energy released when the object is
converted into pure energy 16
 Relativity II

Relativistic Energy
1. Even an infinite amount of energy is not enough to achieve c.
2. For v<<c, the relativistic and non relativistic kinetic energies
are almost identical.

Electrons accelerated to high energies in an electric field

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 Relativity II

Example, 10 kg of mass, if converted into pure energy, it

will be equivalent to
E = m0c2 = 10 x (3 x108) 2 J = 9 x1017J
– equivalent to a few tons of TNT explosive

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 Relativity II

Due to mass-energy equivalence, sometimes we

express the mass of an object in unit of energy
Example
Electron has rest mass m0 = 9.1 x 10-31kg
The rest mass of the electron can be expressed as energy
equivalent, via
m0 c2 = 9.1 x 10-31kg x (3 x 108m/s)2
= 8.19 x 10-14 J
1eV - 1.6 x 10
-19
J
= 8.19 x 10-14
(1.6x10-19)-1 eV
= 511.88 x 103 eV = 0.511 MeV
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 Relativity II

Continue exploring the mass-energy

momentum formula…
 In terms of relativistic momentum, the relativistic total energy can
be expressed as followed
2 2 2
u c p
E  m c ; p  m u  2  2
2 2 2 4
0
2 2 2
0
2

c E
mc 2 2
 m0 c E 
2 4 2 4 2

 E   m0 c 
2 2 2 4
 m0 c
0

u  2
2 2 2 
E c p 
1 2 
c
E  p c m c
2 2 2 2 4
0
Conservation of energy-
momentum
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 Relativity II

Relativistic invariance
 Note that, in general, E and p are frame-dependent
(i.e they takes on different value in different
reference frame) but the quantity

E p c
2 2 2

is an invariant – it’s the same in value (m2 4

0c) in
all reference frames. We call such quantity a
`relativistic invariant’

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 Relativity II

Total Relativistic Energy

The general formula for the relativistic total energy
involves the rest mass mo and the relativistic momentum
p = mv.

Total Energy, E E  ( m O2 c 4 )  p 2 c 2

For a particle with zero

E = moc2
momentum p = 0:

For an EM wave, m0 = 0, and E E = pc

simplifies to:

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 Relativity II

Mass and Energy (Cont.)

The conversion factor between mass m
Eo = moc2
and energy E is:

The zero subscript refers to proper or rest values.

A 1-kg block on a table has an energy Eo and 1 kg

mass mo relative to table:

Eo = (1 kg)(3 x 108 m/s)2 Eo = 9 x 1016 J

If the 1-kg block is in relative motion, its kinetic energy adds to

the total energy.

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 Relativity II

Total Energy
According to Einstein's theory, the total energy E of a
particle of is given by:

Total Energy: E = mc2 (moc2 + K)

Total energy includes rest energy and energy of motion. If

we are interested in just the energy of motion, we must
subtract moc2.

Kinetic Energy: K = mc2 – moc2

Kinetic Energy: K = (m – mo)c2

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 Relativity II

Example : What is the kinetic energy of a proton

(mo = 1.67 x 10-27 kg) traveling at 0.7c?

m + 0.7c
m 0

1v c 2 2 mo = 1.67 x 10-27 kg

1.67 x 10-27 kg
1.67 x 10-27 kg ; m = 2.34 x 10-27 kg
m 
1  (0.7c)2 c2 0.51

K = (m – mo)c2 = (2.34 x 10-27 kg – 1.67 x 10-17 kg)c2

Relativistic
RelativisticKinetic
KineticEnergy
Energy KK==6.02
6.02xx10
10-11JJ
-11

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 Relativity II

Summary
Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, published in 1905, was
based on two postulates:

I.I.The
Thelaws
lawsof
ofphysics
physicsare
arethe
thesame
samefor
forall
allframes
framesof
of
reference
referencemoving
movingatataaconstant
constantvelocity
velocitywith
withrespect
respect
to
toeach
eachother.
other.

II.The
II. Thefree
freespace
spacevelocity
velocityof
oflight
lightccisisconstant
constantfor
forall
all
observers,
observers,independent
independentof
oftheir
theirstate
stateof
ofmotion.
motion.(c
(c==33
xx10
108m/s)
8
m/s)

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 Relativity II

Summary (Cont.)

t0
Relativistic time:

t
1v2 c2

Relativistic length:

LL
01vc 22

Relativistic mass: m
m 0

1v c
2 2

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 Relativity II

Summary(Cont.)

Relativistic m
0v
p
momentum:
1v c 2 2

Total energy: E = mc2

Kinetic energy: K = (m – mo)c2

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 Relativity II

The complete Lorentz Transformation

xv
t v
x t

x x
1  2 2
v/c Length 1v/2 2
c
contraction
y  y y  y
z  z Simultaneity z  z
problems
tv/
xc 2

t v
x/c2
t t
1v/c 2 2
Time 1v/c
2 2

dilation

If v << c, i.e., β ≈ 0 and g ≈ 1, yielding the familiar Galilean transformation.

Space and time are now linked, and the frame velocity cannot exceed c.
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