• HW#6 Chapter 10

Concept: 19, 16, 20, 28, 34

Problems: 4, 6

From Last Time…

• Range of visible light from 400 nm to 700 nm
• Eye interprets different wavelengths as different colors
but has only three ‘sensors’, cones S, M, L with overlapping
sensitivities.
• Lets colors be described as combination of three ‘primaries’
• This makes a ‘color space’, colors can be described as amount
of primaries needed.
• Most methods of generating colors have a ‘gamut’, a limited
range of possible colors that in general to not contain pure
spectral colors.
 Relativity and Modern Physics
• Physics changed drastically in the early 1900’s
• New discoveries —
relativity and quantum mechanics

• Relativity
– Changed the way we think about space and time

• Quantum mechanics
– Has led to multitude of technological achievements
 Relativity and frames of reference
• Frame of reference
– The coordinate system in which you observe events.
– e.g. The room around you.
– You judge how fast a thrown ball goes by its velocity relative to some
stationary object in the room.
– You judge how high a thrown ball goes by distance from the floor,
ceiling, etc.

• Different frames
– Suppose you are on the van Galder bus to Chicago driving at 60 mph,
and throw the ball.
– From your seat on the bus,
the speed of ball is the same as in this classroom.
– To the major league scout on the side of the road, your 40 mph
fastball has become 100 mph.
 Preferred reference frame
• Who is correct?
– You wouldn’t last long in the majors.
– But that’s because the important velocity in a
baseball game is the relative velocity of ball with
respect to pitcher.

– But what is the absolute velocity of the ball?

 Relative velocities

• Earth spins on its axis

– One rotation in (24 hrs)(60 min/hr)(60 sec/min)=86400 sec
– Point on surface moves 2πRE in one rotation.
– Surface velocity = 2π(6.4x106 m)/86400 sec = 465 m/s

• Earth revolves around sun

– One revolution in (365 days)(86400 sec/day)=3.15x107 sec
– Earth velocity = 2π(1.5x1011 m)/ 3.15x107 sec=3x104 m/s

• Sun moves w/ respect to center of milky way galaxy

 Galilean relativity
• Absolute velocity not clear, but we can
seemingly agree on relative velocities.
– In all cases the ball moves 40 mph faster than I do.

• This is an example of Galilean relativity:

– The laws of mechanics are the same in all inertial
frames of reference

Inertial Frame:
reference frame moving in straight line
with constant velocity.
 Galilean relativity: example
• Experiment performed…
– in laboratory at rest with respect to earth’s surface
– in airplane moving at constant velocity
…must give the same result.
v=0
v>0

• In both cases, ball is observed to rise up and return

to thrower’s hand
– Process measured to take same time in both experiments
– Newton’s laws can be used to calculate motion in both.
 More physical examples

• On an airplane:
– Pouring drink on an airplane.
– Throwing peanuts into your mouth
– But when the ride gets bumpy…
• In a car:
–
 Example of Galilean relativity

• Observer on ground

• Experiment may look different

to different observers, but both
agree that Newton’s laws hold
– Can make observations agree
by incorporating relative
velocities of frames. • Observer in plane
 Galilean relativity

• No experiment using the laws of mechanics can

determine if a frame of reference is moving at
zero velocity or at a constant velocity.

• Concept of absolute motion is not meaningful.

– There is no ‘preferred’ reference frame
 Question

You riding in a car at 30 mph, and you throw a

ball directly backwards at 20 mph just as you
pass a stationary observer. The observer sees

A. Ball drops directly to the ground with no

horizontal motion
B. Ball moves backwards at 20 mph and falls
C. Ball moves forwards at 10 mph and falls to
ground.
 Question

You riding in a car at 30 mph, and you throw a

ball directly backwards at 30 mph just as you
pass a stationary observer. The observer sees

A. Ball drops directly to the ground with no

horizontal motion
B. Ball moves backwards at 30 mph and falls
C. Ball moves forwards at 60 mph and fall to
ground.
 What about electromagnetism?
• Maxwell equations say that
– Light moves at constant speed c=3x108 m/sec in vacuum
• Seems at odds with Galilean relativity:

Joe
Jane

– Jane would expect to see light pulse propagate at c+v

– But Maxwell says it should propagate at c, if physics is same in all
inertial reference frames.
– If it is different for Joe and Jane, then in which frame is it c?
 The Ether
• To resolve this, 19th century researchers postulated
existence of medium in which light propagates,
rather than vacuum.
– i.e. similar to gas in which sound waves propagate or
water in which water waves propagate.
• Then Maxwell’s equations hold in the ether
Pluses Minuses
Allows speed of light to be Ether must be rigid, massless
different in different frames medium, with no effect on
(Maxwell’s eqns hold in frame at planetary motion
rest with respect to ether).
Light then becomes like other No experimental measurement has
classical waves, ever detected presence of ether
Ether is absolute reference frame.
 Proposed influence of ether
on light propagation
• Ether was presumed to be the
medium in which light waves
traveled.
• If ether is in motion with respect
to observer, then speed of light
with respect to observer will be
different.
 The idea of the experiment
• If the earth moves thru a
medium thru which light
moves at speed c, along
the direction of the
earth’s motion, light
should appear from earth
to move more slowly.
 Michelson-Morley experiments

• Tried to measure motion of earth

with respect to the ether
• Earth changes its direction of
motion on a regular basis as it
revolves around sun.
• So ether wind changes direction
relative to the interferometer
• Ether wind would change average
speed of light on the two paths.
• Waves will interfere when they
recombine at the telescope.
• Null result showed that ether does
not exist.
Einstein’s principle of relativity

• Principle of relativity:
– All the laws of physics are identical in all inertial
reference frames.
• Constancy of speed of light:
– Speed of light is same in all inertial frames
(e.g. independent of velocity of observer, velocity
of source emitting light)

(These two postulates are the basis of the

special theory of relativity)
 The constancy of light speed

Jane is in spaceship traveling at 0.25c relative

to Earth and turns on her headlights. Joe is
on Earth, and observes the light from the
headlights travel at
A. 0.75c
B. 1.25c
C. c
Consequences of Einstein’s relativity

• Many ‘common sense’ results break down:

– The distance between two objects is not absolute.
it is different in different inertial frames
– The time interval between events is not absolute.
it will be different in different inertial frames
– Velocities don’t always add directly

• Many of these consequences can be

demonstrated in simple ‘thought experiments’
 Simultaneity and relativity
• When are two events are simultaneous?
– Easy if they are at the same spatial location.
– Different spatial locations require some synchronization, which
requires signal transmission between locations.

• Simultaneity of separated events:

– Event (x1, t1) is simultaneous with event (x2, t2) if light signals
emitted at t1 from x1 and at t2 from x2 arrive simultaneously at
the midpoint between x1 and x2

• In this theory,
simultaneity in time does not have an absolute meaning.
– Mixes the time and space coordinates
 Simultaneity and relativity, cont
• Means there is no universal, or absolute time.

– The time interval between events in one reference

frame is generally different than the interval measured
in a different frame.

– Events measured to be simultaneous in one frame are

in general not simultaneous in a second frame moving
relative to the first.
 Simultaneity thought experiment
• Boxcar moving with constant velocity v with respect to
observer O on the ground.
• Observer O’ rides in exact center of the boxcar.
• Two lightning bolts strike the ends of the boxcar, leaving
marks on the boxcar and the ground underneath.
• Observer O on the ground finds that she is halfway
between the scorch marks.
 Simultaneity, continued

• Observer O (on the ground) also observes that light waves

from each lightning strike at the boxcar ends reach her at
exactly the same time.

• Since each light wave traveled at c, and each traveled the

same distance (since O is in the middle), the lightning strikes
are simultaneous in the frame of ground observer.
 The events in boxcar (O’) frame

• When light from front flash reaches boxcar observer O’, he

has moved away from rear flash.
—light from rear flash has not yet reached him.

• —Both light waves travel at c in the boxcar frame,

—Observer O’ is equidistant from the lightning strikes
—Light flashes arrive at different times
—Both flashes travel at c

• Therefore the lightning strikes at the boxcar ends

are not simultaneous in the boxcar frame.
 Time dilation
Reference frame of Reference frame of
observer O’ on train observer O on ground

• Observer O on ground
• Observer O’ on train moving at v relative to O
• Pulse of light emitted from laser, reflected from
mirror, arrives back at laser after some time interval.
• This time interval is different for the two observers
 Time dilation, continued
Reference frame of Reference frame of
observer O’ on train observer O on ground

• Observer O’ on train: light pulse travels distance 2d.

• Observer O on ground: light pulse travels farther
• Relativity: light travels at velocity c in both frames
– Therefore time interval between the two events
(pulse emission from laser & pulse return)
is longer for stationary observer
• This is time dilation
How large an effect is time dilation?

• Δt = time interval between events in frame O

(observer on ground)
2 2
• Δt satisfies (cΔt /2) = (vΔt /2) + d 2,
2 2 2 2
(Δt ) (c − v
2
) = (2d )
2 2d 2 1
€ Δt = 2d / c − v =
c 1− (v /c) 2
€
 Time dilation
• Time interval in boxcar frame O’
round trip distance 2d
Δt p = =
velocity c

• Time interval in ground frame O

€ 2d 1 Δt p
Δt = = = γΔt p
c 1− (v /c) 2
1− (v /c) 2

1
γ=
1− (v /c) 2
€

€
 Example
• Suppose observer on train (at rest with respect
to laser and mirror) measures round trip time to
be one second.
• Observer O on ground is moving at 0.5c with
respect to laser/mirror.
1 1 1
γ= = = = 1.15
1− (v /c) 2 1− (0.5c /c) 2 1− 0.25

€ • Observer O measures 1.15 seconds

 Which way does time dilation go?
• The shortest time measured between events is in the frame in
which the events occur at the same spatial location.
• This is called the ‘proper time’ between events, Δtp

• Example: The two events could be

1) Minute hand on clock points at ‘3’
2) Minute hand on clock points at ‘4’

In the rest frame of the clock, these occur at the same spatial
location, and the time interval is 5 minutes.

In frame moving with respect to clock, time interval is γ(5 min)

To this observer, clock is moving, and is measured to run slow
by factor γ-1