Chapter 24: Relativity

(Only contains topics from the reduced syllabus)

Frame of Reference
“A rigid framework (usually x, y and z-axes) relative to which the position and motion of an
object can be measured is called frame of reference.”

Relative Motion
Relative motion describes the motion of an object with respect to another observer or frame of
reference.

Relative Motion (Same direction)

When two objects move in the same direction, the relative velocity of one object with respect
to the other one is calculated by taking the difference of their velocities.
𝑣𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 = 𝑣1 − 𝑣2
Where 𝑣1 and 𝑣2 are the velocities of the two objects.

Relative Motion (Opposite direction)

When two objects move in the opposite direction, the relative velocity of one object with
respect to the other one is calculated by taking the sum of their velocities.
𝑣𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 = 𝑣1 + 𝑣2
Where 𝑣1 and 𝑣2 are the velocities of the two objects.

Types of Frames of Reference

There are two types of frames of reference, which are:

Inertial Frame of Reference (Non- accelerative)

A frame of reference which stays in rest or moves with uniform velocity is called Inertial or Non-
accelerative frame of reference.

• Objects in inertial frame of reference follow straight line paths with uniform velocities.
• Newton’s first law is valid for inertial frame of reference.
• Real forces are observed and can be directly measured in inertial frames.

Non-Inertial Frame of Reference (Accelerative)

A frame of reference which accelerates over time is called non-inertial frame of reference.

• Objects in non-inertial frames appear to be acted upon by fictitious forces.

• Newton’s first law is not valid for non- inertial frame of reference.
• Fictitious forces (centrifugal force, Coriolis forces) are found in non-inertial frames.
Principle of Galilean Relativity
“The laws of mechanics must be valid for all inertial frames of reference.”

Relative Motion: Galilean Transformations

Consider two inertial reference frames S and
S’ where S is at rest and S’ moves with
constant velocity ‘v’ with respect to the
stationary frame S.
We assume that 𝑣 ≪ 𝑐 and let the origins of
the two frames coincide at 𝑡 = 0. The
coordinates of point P from the viewpoint of
the observer O’ are (x’, y’, z’) whereas from
the viewpoint of observer O are (x, y, z). If the
time elapsed in both frames is the same, we
get,

𝑥 = 𝑥 ′ + 𝑣𝑡
𝑦 = 𝑦′
𝑧 = 𝑧′
𝑡 = 𝑡′
The above equations are called Galilean Transformation equations.

Transformation of velocities
From the above equation,
𝑥 = 𝑥 ′ + 𝑢𝑡
Dividing both sides by t,
𝑥 𝑥 ′ 𝑢𝑡
= +
𝑡 𝑡 𝑡
𝑣 = 𝑣′ + 𝑢
This is known as the Galilean Transformation for speeds.

Special Theory of Relativity

This theory was presented by Albert Einstein in 1905.

Postulates of Special Relativity:

1. “The laws of physics have the same form in all inertial frames of reference.”
 2. “The speed of light in vacuum is constant in all inertial frames, regardless of the relative
velocities of the observer or the light source.”

Explanation (Just for understanding)

• The first postulates suggests that the same event can be observed differently by two
different observers in two different inertial frames, yet the laws of motion would remain
the same for both observers. Imagine a person in a moving car throws a ball up and
catches it on its way down. For him, the ball followed a straight-line path, however an
observer outside the car would observe a parabolic path followed by the ball as it was
launched and caught at different places. Hence their observations would be different but
the laws of physics would determine the trajectory of the ball exactly according to their
observations.
• The second postulate states that the speed of light is independent of the relative motion
of the source and the observer. Even if the observer or the source of light start moving,
the speed of light would still remain unchanged. This weird uniformity of speed of light
causes certain weird consequences like length contraction, mass variation and time
dilation. This also indicates that Galilean Transformation of velocities don’t work for
light.
• If the speed of light is constant, time and space are not two separate entities, they
become relative to each other and hence aren’t absolute anymore.

Relative Motion: Lorentz Transformations

The corrected Galilean Transformation equations
for space and time coordinates are called “Lorentz
Transformation” named after Hendrick Lorentz.
𝑥 = 𝛾(𝑥 − 𝑣𝑡)
𝑣𝑥
𝑡 ′ = 𝛾 (𝑡 − )
𝑐2
𝑦′ = 𝑦
𝑧′ = 𝑧
Where 𝛾 is called the Lorentz factor and is given
by,
1
𝛾=
2
√1 − 𝑣2
𝑐

Consequences of Special Theory of Relativity

Since time and space are no longer absolute but become relative to each other, following
consequences arise as a result of this relativity.
Relativity of Simultaneity
“Two events that are simultaneous in one reference frame are in general not simultaneous in a
second frame moving relative to the first one.”
Explanation:
Imagine standing on a cliff and observing a train moving to the right. Two lightning flashes occur
at the same time.
From your perspective the two lightning flashes are simultaneous (occurring at the same time).
Now imagine a person on the moving train looking at the sky. Since speed of light is constant for
all inertial frames, he will be moving towards one of the lightning flashes and moving away from
the other one, hence he will see one lightning flash happening first followed by the other, and
hence for him, the two events are not simultaneous anymore.

Time Dilation
If you are approaching the speed of light, your time would appear to get slowed down from the
perspective of a stationary observer, this phenomenon is called “Time Dilation”.
Let ∆𝑡𝑜 be proper time measured by the clock that is in the stationary frame. The relativistic
time ∆𝑡 can be given by,
∆𝑡𝑜
∆𝑡 =
2
√1 − 𝑣2
𝑐
Length Contraction
If you are approaching the speed of light, your length would appear to be contracted in the
direction of your travel by a stationary observer, this phenomenon is called “Length
contraction”.
Let 𝑙𝑜 be the proper length of a rod when it’s at rest, so the relativistic length of the rod when it
is approaching the speed of light can be given by,

𝑣2
𝑙 = 𝑙𝑜 √1 −
𝑐2

Mass Variation
If you are approaching the speed of light, your mass would appear to increase from the
perspective of a stationary observer, this phenomenon is called “Mass Variation”.
Let 𝑚𝑜 be the rest mass of an object, so the relativistic mass of the object can be given by,
𝑚𝑜
𝑚=
2
√1 − 𝑣2
𝑐
Mass – Energy Relationship
According to Einstein’s Special theory of Relativity, mass and energy are interchangeable. For a
rest mass of 𝑚𝑜 , rest mass energy is given by,

𝐸𝑜 = 𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2
When the object starts moving, its relativistic mass becomes 𝑚, so the total energy is given by,
𝐸 = 𝑚𝑐 2
Hence the kinetic energy can be given as,
𝐾 = 𝐸 − 𝐸𝑜
𝐾 = 𝑚𝑐 2 − 𝑚𝑜 𝑐 2
As 𝑚 = 𝛾𝑚𝑜
𝐾 = 𝑚𝑐 2 (𝛾 − 1)

Maximum Velocity of a particle

From the equations of time dilation, length contraction and mass variation, we observe that if
the velocity of the object becomes equal to that of light, time becomes infinite (or it appears to
stop) and length becomes zero and the mass becomes infinite. These are impossible to happen,
because an infinite mass means an infinite amount of energy, hence the maximum attainable
speed of an object would always be less than that of light.