1. Space and Time
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2. S2.1 Einstein's Revolution
Our goals for learning:
What are the major ideas of special relativity?
What is relative about relativity?
What is absolute about relativity?
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3. What are the major ideas of special relativity?
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4. Einstein's Theories of Relativity
Special Theory of Relativity (1905)
Usual notions of space and time must be revised for speeds approaching light speed (c).
E = mc2
General Theory of Relativity (1915)
Expands the ideas of special theory to include a surprising new view of gravity
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5. Key Ideas of Special Relativity
No material object can travel faster than light.
If you observe something moving near light speed:
Its time slows down.
Its length contracts in direction of motion.
Its mass increases.
Whether or not two events are simultaneous depends on your frame of reference.
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6. What is relative about relativity?
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7. Relativity of Motion
Motion is not absolute—we must measure speed of one object relative to another.
Example: A plane moving at 1670 km/hr from east to west would appear from space to be standing still.
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8. What is absolute about relativity?
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9. Postulates of special relativity
The laws of nature are the same for everyone.
The speed of light is the same for everyone.
All of relativity follows from these two ideas!
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10. Making Sense of Relativity
As children, we revised our ideas of "up" and "down" when we learned that Earth is round.
Relativity forces us to revise how we think of "space" and "time."
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11. Reference Frames
Motion can be defined with respect to a particular frame of reference.
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12. Absoluteness of Light Speed
Einstein claimed that light should move at exactly c in all reference frames (now experimentally verified).
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13. What have we learned? What are the major ideas of special relativity?
No material object can exceed the speed of light.
We must revise our notions of space and time when dealing with objects near light speed.
What is relative about relativity?
All motion is relative, but laws of nature, including the speed of light, are the same for everybody.
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14. What have we learned? What is absolute about relativity?
The laws of physics, including the speed of light, are the same for everyone.
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15. S2.2 Relative Motion Our goals for learning:
What's surprising about the absoluteness of the speed of light?
Why can't we reach the speed of light?
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16. What's surprising about the absoluteness of the speed of light?
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17. Thought Experiments
Einstein explored the consequences of the absoluteness of light speed using "thought experiments."
The consequences will be easiest for us to visualize with thought experiments involving spaceships in freely floating reference frames (no gravity or acceleration).
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18. Relativity of Motion at Low Speeds
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19. Relativity of Motion at Low Speeds
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20. Relativity of Motion at High Speeds
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21. Light Speed is Absolute
c + 0.9c = c !?!
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22. Why can't we reach the speed of light?
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23. Trying to Catch Up to Light
Suppose you tried to catch up to your own headlight beams.
You'd always see them moving away at speed c.
Anyone else would also see the light moving ahead of you.
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24. Special Topic: What if Light Can't Catch You?
Is there a loophole?
What if you're somehow moving away from a distant planet faster than the speed of light?
In that case, you have no way of detecting that the planet is there.
Although there are some phenomena that move faster than light, no information can be communicated faster than the speed of light.
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25. What have we learned?
What's surprising about the absoluteness of the speed of light?
Velocities in different reference frames do not add up like we expect them to because the speed of light must be the same for everyone.
Why can't we reach the speed of light?
No matter how fast we go, light will always appear to move away from us at speed c.
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26. S2.3 The Reality of Space and Time
Our goals for learning:
How does relativity affect our view of time and space?
Do the effects predicted by relativity really occur?
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27. How does relativity affect our view of time and space?
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28. Path of Ball in a Stationary Train
Thinking about the motion of a ball on a train will prepare us for the next thought experiment.
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29. Path of Ball in a Moving Train
Someone outside the train would see the ball travel a longer path in one up-down cycle.
The faster the train is moving, the longer that path would be.
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30. Time Dilation
We can perform a thought experiment with a light beam replacing the ball.
The light beam, moving at c, travels a longer path in a moving object.
Time must be passing more slowly there.
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31. The Time Dilation Formula
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32. The Time Dilation Formula
Time will appear to pass more slowly in a moving object by an amount depending on its speed.
Time almost halts for objects nearing the speed of light.
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33. Simultaneous Events?
In your reference frame, red and green lights on other spaceship appear to flash simultaneously.
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34. Simultaneous Events?
But someone on the other spaceship sees the green light flash first—simultaneity is relative!
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35. Length Contraction
Similar thought experiments tell us that an object's length becomes shorter in its direction of motion.
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36. Mass Increase
A force applied to a rapidly moving object produces less acceleration than if the object were motionless.
This effect can be attributed to a mass increase in the moving object.
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37. Velocity Addition +  Velocity of first ship in your frame = 1
Velocity of second
ship in frame of 1st = 2
Velocity of second ship in your frame: 1 + 2 1 2 1+  c c
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38. Formulas of Special Relativity 2 = –
Time dilation : t' t 1 c 2  2 =
Length contraction : l' l – 1 c 2 m =
Mass increase : m'  2 – 1 c 2
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39. Deriving E = mc2 m0 1  m =  m0 1 + for small  2 c  1 – c 1
Total energy =
mc2  mo c 2 + mo  2 2
Mass-energy of object at rest
kinetic energy
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40. Do the effects predicted by relativity really occur?
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41. Tests of Relativity
First evidence for absoluteness of speed of light came from the Michelson-Morley experiment performed in 1887.
Time dilation happens routinely to subatomic particles that approach the speed of light in accelerators.
Time dilation has also been verified through precision measurements in airplanes moving at much slower speeds.
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42. Tests of Relativity
Prediction that E = mc2 is verified daily in nuclear reactors and in the core of the Sun.
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43. Test Relativity for Yourself
If speed of light were not absolute, binary stars would not look like two distinct points of light.
You can verify relativity by simply looking through a telescope at a binary star system.
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44. A Paradox of Non-relativistic Thinking
If speed of light were not absolute, you would see the car coming toward you reach the collision point before the car it struck.
There is no paradox if light speed is same for everyone.
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45. What have we learned?
How does relativity affect our view of time and space?
Time slows down for moving objects.
Lengths shorten for moving objects.
Mass of a moving object increases.
Simultaneity of events depends on your perspective.
Do the effects predicted by relativity really occur?
Relativity has been confirmed by many different experiments.
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46. S2.4 Toward a New Common Sense
Our goals for learning:
How can we make sense of relativity?
How does special relativity offer us a ticket to the stars?
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47. How can we make sense of relativity?
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48. Making Sense of Relativity
According to you, time slows down in a moving spaceship.
According to someone on that spaceship, your time slows down.
Who is right?
You both are, because time is not absolute but depends on your perspective.
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49. Toward a New Common Sense
As children, we learned that "up" and "down" are relative.
Relativity tells us that "time" and "space" are relative.
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50. How does relativity offer us a ticket to the stars?
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51. A Journey to Vega The distance to Vega is about 25 light-years.
But if you could travel to Vega at 0.999c, the round trip would seem to take only 2 years!
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52. A Journey to Vega
At that speed, the distance to Vega contracts to only 1 light-year in your reference frame.
Going even faster would make the trip seem even shorter!
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53. A Journey to Vega
However, your twin on Earth would have aged 50 years while you aged only 2 years.
Time and space are relative!
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54. What have we learned? How can we make sense of relativity?
We need abandon our old notions of space and time as absolute and adopt new a new common sense in which time and space depend on your perspective.
How does special relativity offer us a ticket to the stars?
For someone moving near light speed, distances appear to become shorter because of length contraction.
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