1,

2,
 Accele€lorbasedconfirmation of timedilaiion...._.._....._.._..............._..... 45
Mac-oscopicCloclsFtownonCommercatJels..,..........................
In Mrch rEne is propertimeo, proper€19!-m€asuFd?.,............,.....46
15. 6 SPACE|MVEL qOSSIBLE?..............,...............---_---..........4a
16. THETWN PARADOX -_-----,..,,,.,.,.4s
17. THENEEDFORCHANGE ......,,...............,,............---_-_---......... 50
18. THELORENTZ TRAN5FORMA7,ION........................--_-_---......... 51
Usingtire LorenETEnsformations to derivethe TimeDitalion
E x p r e s s E. n. ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5_4. . . . .
LorenETransiomations forderjving theLengthContEction Expressjon.
. . . - . . . , , . . . .5. .4. . , .
19. RELAT|VIS?C WLOC|TYIF!!.NSFORMAI,ONS-......................... 55
LorcneTEnsicrmation Equation s test whenr/, =6..._......,._.........,,....59
20. SPEEDOFLtcHf fHE NATURAL SqEED UM|T,,,,,,,.,...,.,.....,...--..60
21. . -SPACE-IIMEDIAGRAMS(ot MINKOWSKT DtAcRAMs)...............61
M a r sA t t a c.k, . . , . . . . . . . . _ . . , . , , . , . . . . _ . . . , . _ . . . . .7. .0, . , , , .
Ihs Famous TwinParadox-Revisired..._....._.._.................. ...................7.1
Moonsworld]insarcundEarth....._....,..,,,,..._..........,.,..._.._....._.,.,,,,_....... 75
22. INUARIANCE............ --_--.-.,..,..,..,-... /7
Conceptual Explanaiion of Space-Ttme Interuat .....,..._..............,,,......... 79
23, DOPPLER EFFECT ON SOUND,,.,,,,...,,....,.,.,,,.,..----...,,.,,......-_.... a1
C a s e A : A[ , ! o M nSgo u r c e . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . .8. .2. _ . . .
caseB:A r'roving Observe.. ................._. 83
caseC: Moving Sourcesnd MovingObseruer............_....._.._................ s4
21. REIAT|V|ST|C DOPPLER EFFECI,.........-.,.,,.,..,.....-.,.,,.,,.,,....,.._... a1
Cosmologrcattmpti€nonotDopprerShiliorLEhl..............,,.........,.
SpeckoscopyandRedshfl... ............................89
25. USINGDOPPLER EFEC| fO ANALYSE|WIN PARADOX.......... S1
26. RELAT|VISIC MOMENTUM....................................-...................... n
27, RELA7Ir''SITCFORCE .,,.,,........,,..... 102
24. REr-AnWSnCWORKANDENERGy............................................ 103
A p p r c n m a l r oC n ot af s s c a ' e x o r € s s o i f o r K n € t r c E n e S y . , . . 1 . .0. .6. . . . . , , .
xeEnonsnrp DdweenMomentum andEnerqy ot a partrcte..,........106
l l E n a N l a s s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . , . .l.O. .7......,..
V e l o c i t y o f a l M a s s l e s s P a f t i c t e . . . _ . ' . . ' . ' - . , . , ._. . . . . . . . , . , . . , , . . . 1 0 7
UnitsforEnergy,.............,....._..'..-,-,-''._'..'-'--,-,,................,....
E q u i v a l e noct [€4 a sas n dE n e r g y _ . _ . .............. . , , . . . . . . . _ . . . . . _ . , .1. 1, .1. , . . . . . . . _ . . ,
M o t i oFna s t e r t h a n c t t , . . . . . . . . , . .._...._.,.,..,..113
29. INTRODUCTION TOTHECENEFi,.LTHEORYOFRELA|IVITY..111
ThePdncipie of Equivat6n@.
Equivalence of cravitationat andlnediatMass.,.,........._.,..,.,..........._... 116
LightFalisunderihe Influence of GEvity.........,.,..............,. ,,....._......... 1.17
 '118
Deflection
TheG€vitational of Llghi ------_ " -
.. - "'' - 120
Oelayof RadarEchoes '122
F;;;io;oi Peiherron . -.. --- ---.--* --"
ori,lercury..
G€vifatonalRedshfi ----
---- :ai
g o w no f c l o c \ s .
S l o w i nO ;;;
GravitaiionalWaves .... - ---]?9
cEvdanonarLenses --
AFTERWORO ONRELATIVIry'. .. .
ND ATOMS ...
30, pltorors, ELECTRO/VSi """"""""" " 132
.
en6riooVneonrrot't --.,^--122
---
T n eS h f s n . B o l t m a L
nanw
-- ;;:
Uhrav'olst Calastophe. ;;;
PlancksRadiaon Law . 138
Cosm|cBackstound Raorstio
alp eruencY
iir?!-pl-Ci"m . .
LEVELS -- 11:
..
SDectrum.
Hvdrcoen
.
iiEijior6iliCiarcerrEcr"Potentiar -- 145
iii!i'l[ i.q*""v -o s'opp'ns " - ''
Increase - -- 112
Effecloflnrensfy l;:
Efrenof FrequencyIncrease '. - -'. r"-'.i-r''.:
Ei"J.tuo""t'" w""" rn"oryInterp€tation Efiect '48
ol Photoelecldc
!"-'ii"l" iiei-p^"'.""t niinss rorPhoroerocrric
Fnecr" 14e
Eff€cr'
i'-,'J"i" I i'orinat'- i",tne Photoereclric 1!e
iii'ii"" Ji iri"i"""*" "t tneProroer€€rdcModer " 154
Ft'"r""t"".,i"
Xiiii".-iri,'ii'i .
eriect.. " ". .*-*- 12:
EFFECT''''
THECOMPTON
.. .
iiiEivlVLriruaeor runrrER -- " 157
PRrNcrPLE
iiiE ir:iiiEliiac urcearArNrY lsT
 ACKNOWLEDCEMENTS

Thisstalemenl*rves to acknowledgelhal theserctes havebeencompiledhom

the following souEes. Nowherein the texl is aclual acknoitledgemornsor
reieren@s given.ln someinstan@s,whe€ths authorthoughl thewftergivesan
€xcellent sourcet€n wasusedverbalim
explanalion,

Youare urgedto at leaslconsulto.e ot thesesourcesor any intmduclorybookto

specialRelativity(and/orGenelalRelativity)for lhis course Anv Fi|st Year book
(withModemPht€ics)shouldalsobeadequat€.
on Physics
Intoductoty Physics Books
t. Con@piual Phy€ics, Pallc Hewiti
2. Physics, lntemallonal50 Edition,
Gian@li
3. PhrsicswnhNlodemPhysics,Richardworson andJav M Pasachotr
.1. Phr6icsCalculls,Hechl
5. Physics for ScianiistsandEngineers, SetuayandBeichner
6. Physicsfor scientistsand Enginer6, Serwav
Z UnivsrsityPhysics,HughD-Young
a UniveGityPhysics,Reese
9-luDdar!;ltdsof Pnvsics-EriendedVe|sion,Hallidav,Resnick,Walker
t0. LlodemPhysics, Kennel,h KEne
'tt. PhysicsforScientistand EngineeF, Gaslorcwie,
Flshbane, Thomton
1z Relatlvlty-Tne Special andGene€lTneory, AlbedEinstein
t3. FlaiandCurved spaceTimes, GeoEe F R Ruih[l.Williams
Ellisand
t4. Phlsicsforscientists andEnginee€,PaulA.Tlpler
t5' undeFtanding Spa@ andTime_-Block2, TheOpenUniveEitv
t6. Mod€mPhysics-.Schaum andSavin
Outlin€Series,Gaulreau

I also urse you lo read at least ons of the followingbooksained at popular

audien@ orlaymen. Thiswould serueas a niceintoduclionio thecourse

Populat Bookson SpaciatRelativry Gnd also A.netal RelawIrv)

1. A BnefHisloryof Time,Steph€n Hawking
2. Seven ldeas Thal Shook ihe UniveBe, andAnds6on
SpielbeE
3. Space,Time& Molion, wesleyC.Sahon
4. l\,1r
Tompkins in Papeback, GeoEeGamow
5. RelativilyandCommon Sense,Hennann Bondi
6. Time,Spaceand Things,B. K. Ridlev
7. Relalivilyandlts Roots,Ban€shHoffman
a. TheDanclnqwuLiMasteE,Ga'yzukav
g. FromX"E!€lo ouafts,Emilioseg€
Mlh, PaulDavis
10.'lhel,'lalter andJohnGnbbons
'11.ThbForcesof Nalule.P. C.W. Davis
12.BevondEinstein. l4ichioKakuandJ€nniferThomPson
13.Th; Evol,'tionor Phr€ics, andLsopold
AlberiEinsiein lnfeld.
 1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TORELANVITY
. Alnost ev€ryonenowsdaysbelievesthat the Eartr is a Planstlhal ttavsls
€roundthesun, andthatthe Moonalsolravelsin a circularpah arcundthe
Eadh.
. Yet, a few hundred y4ls ago, such ideas rculd have been v€w€d as
hereti€1,
. Adslotle(340BC)€alised thatthe Earthwasa roundsphsremtherthana nat
plate(Ths€ are stil psde on Earthtodaythal belle!€the Eanhis nat)
. ln hls bookOr lhe Hearcts, Aristotlepul ior"r€d two goodargumentsas to
whythe Earh was sPhedGI.
. Filstly, he Ealised lhat the Eafth @mingb€tw€enlhe Sun and the lvloon
@us€dlhe ocliDsesofthe moon.
. The eafi's lhadow casedon ihe lloon was alwaysrcund,which@dd only
b€ tie caseifthe Earttlwas rcund.
. S€condly,th€ Gre€ksrcalisedthat ih€ NorthSiar appssrd lorer In lhe sky
wh€nV€l €d in the euth lhan in the noftedy €gions. Arisioueusedthis idea
to eslimal€tlle sizeofthe E€rth.
. A thid aqum€nt put rorwad by lh€ Grcers thai the EarthMs mundcomes
trom obs€rvalionsihat one frst s€es the sails of a shiP @mingover lhe
honzon, andonlylaterthehull.

Geocqti. ot Eatth.cente.t Models

. For mt€ti@l rea€ons,Adstotlebelievedlhat the Eadh was the @nt€ of the
Unive;e. and that the sun, the nbon, the planetsand lhe slaF rno!€d in
clrcllar olbits aroundlie Earlh.
. Inthlsschemeof lhings,lheEanhwasntoughttobestalionary.
. This id€ was turhsr elaboEtedby tie EgyPlian,claudius Pk'lemv,about
1800yesE ago(150 AC){se€ Figurcberow)

Fioua: cosMtostcal mo.letputtorwad bv Adsto!!93!9!!9!9ol:

 . Rolemyabandoned Arsto es anerpts to hnkalt the mouonsof the Sun,
Moonandplanetstoeachoher
. Hotelt it sL.fficient
io dev€topmathemalicatschemesto etcutaled accurateiy
celestial ftotions, withoLttbeing concemedabout the rc3sons for suci
. HedevelopedseveElcompticared (€ccentncl.
devicesro do fls c€tcutaiions
. s modet was adootedby the Chnstian cnurchas a picru€or tne
lloremv
U4ive6olh€t
Ms in accordanewnhtneScriptuG.

. In 15'4. a Po,rshonest,Nicnotas propo*d a simprer

Copenicus, mode.in
whichihe SunwasstatoruryandrheEarthandptandsrerctving it :n
arou,rd
. Copemicusfudhef proposedihat the Moonrercr@daroundrhe Eadh,and
ihat tn€ Earthwassptnningarcundits axis.
. Although CopernicLssmetfodstbr€tcutsfngastronorc6trabres
weremucn
smprerlnanthegeocentnc thooryandRotemysmet^ods, hB €su[s ove€l
' Cooeric-Ls
s wok dt of possDte
iearofrhe reactEnrrnjgnt generate,
wEs
orrypubtrshed
onth6dayhediedh 1t13.
SomeEa y Obje.tlons to the Copenjcus Theory.
. Withtho unaided
eye,attsta6 appeario beof ihe samsdiameter.
. copemicuscalculated thehdiameter,and got an answeror s€v€€tm fon
mrcs+n amounrto incredibtero be[eveat tnarsiage.
. Thercwerc alsoobjectionsto the ideaot a movingEadh.
. lf lheearthr€sllymoved,
itsocoupanls shoutds€€a breezeproportrbnalo
its
. Th€earthtravelsabund its o6it at abolt 67000mits psr hour(Copemi6us,s
c€lculalions
indicated
sbout3500mrbsanhour).
. At rhissDeedeverythingon theEanhssurface shoutdbe desrlyedby the
'bFeze" (wind
velociiiesg€ater than 7s mitesan hourare consid;redi,r be

Similsdy.
ir @s claimFd thairf LieEa4hmov€dlhananapp,estalr|^gfbm a
lreeshouldfotfollowa stEightparhtotheqllund.
fttakes onesond'ora. aopteto rcacnlhegrcundfron a rhr€erhatis 10
l€eraDovegound. tt^enii ihoutdtandabo(nj8.6 mit€€awaytron lherree.
Thee,w€reatsoobjectpnsas to how manyho6es we€ needd to putl
somenhgasmassive€stheE€nh6tsuch$upendousspeeds
Similady.
a sprnnm!Eanf s rrkea g|€rnmer.y€o{oLndandthe resLlng
cgftnurSarrorce
shoutdbeso tarqerrat a rrhao(,msmu,craveto rrarqor
. Thsrowercalsophilosophical andtheological objecls,sincethe Aristoielian
vew hadbeenincorpomled intorcligionandduringthal psrjod,rsligionwas
consideredto be the Oueenof Sciences-
r The heliocentrictheorys€s attack€dby the Germanl€adersof the Pmlesiant
Reromallon because it mn counlerto a lileralreadingoi theBlble.
. lt waslhoughtthal the Dle of ihe Sui in the theoryrculd leadio t']e etum of
PaganpEclisesof SunwBhip.
. TheCalholicChurchw€sinitially mild,butultimately lheyloo condemned the
heliocentrismas helelic.
. Giordano Bruno,a monk,proolaime! some50yea6 afterCopehiass d€ah
thallhe Earthwaslikeother planets,andlhallhesewer€lnhabiled by p€ople
whohadundsQonehisiorical andrcligiolse)e€dences similarlo thosethat
tEnspired on Earlh,including alllheevenlsre@dedin theBible.
. Brunoassededihat the Unive6e was infiniie in extentand ihe Sun was a
minorslar,andthaltherewereolherplanelary syslems.
. Ihe uniqueness of mankind, of God'sconcemior mankindandlhe vadous
oiher sacredoractis€sandinstndionswasthercbvlost.
. Brunowasultimatsly bum€dallhe stakebe@ue he refusedlo recantand
rcpudia'shG andothsrhsrssi€s.
Kepler, Galileoand Nev(on
' Neadya centurypassedbefoGCopemious's ideasweretakenseiolsly.
. Trc astrcnomerlhe Geman,JohannesKepler,and ihe ltalian,Galileo
Galilei-sEnedpublicly io support lhe Copemican theory.
. The deathlow to the ArisloleliarvPlolemaictheorycamewilh the discoveryof
thetelescope, whenGalileoobservsd otllormoonorbitingaroundJupner.
. Thisimplied thaleveMhingdidnoihaveto olbitarcundtheEadh,asAnstoils
andRolemylhoughl.
. Inthe meantime, Keplerhaddis@vered thatthe planetsfollowelllplical
olbils
aound lhe Sun, and ihal also put lsd the fact thai the odrib rere pedecl
. Anotherprcblem siillremained, andexplanation on howthesebodiesactually
movethmughspaceandtimewaslacking-
. ln 1687, lsaac Neslon published his PhilasophiaeNatualis tuincipia
Mathemair'€in whichhe developedtheoryon howbodiesmovein spae and
time,asw€lissthsmsthemafcs nsededto anal!€etho* motions.
. Nswtonshow€dthal accordingtc' the law of universalglavitation,gEvily
causedthe moonto odrilin an ellipticolbitarcundthe Eanhandc€usesthe
EanhandtheDlansts 1oiollowelliotic
oloilsaroundtheSun.
. Newton'slaws indicatsa universeewlving 'n time in a @mpletely
orodeleininediashion.
. The hiverse is like a gianl, elaboratedockrc& opeEling in a p€scnbed
r Ne64orasserled
il'aliimeandspa@we€ absolule.

lnfluence of |leMon on Scientilic rhousht

' Nestons wo*s werea greal precucorfor scientiticthought.
 I

Beiore thai, much of phvsics appeared io be separate and unrelated

ohenomena withnosimpleelplanalion
ilewtonexDlamed allk'ndsofTot,onin termsofonlvafewsimolelaws
scientsrsGre ;-xtemeVenourEgedbv this
They be€me confidentthal our univeFe was inde€d a rationalsvstem'
govemod bysimplelare.
. Scientstsin all arcassendoLIito di$overthe"basic'Iawsof lheirtields.
. 'Social Sciences'wete c€aied and scholarstied to searchtur laws that
govembasichumanbehaviour'
AdamSmilh ln hls book tvealth af Nationslawsof economicsso lhal eund
economicpoliciescouldbe adopted
. Auolrsle comtolned1odothesamsin sociology
. Faih in the ultimatepowerol lhe scienttlicmind'wastrcmendous
. AlloverEuopeandRussiaacademies wefEbeingestablished-
. 'Age of Reason
Peoplespokeof the
. The Americanand Fench Revolutionsrerc both dedicat€dto the id€a lhal
peoplehad@rlainnaturalhghts
ln fact. ountti€s @nstitulions,inclildanqour own' ls Mitten in lhe sams
$ienlific spiritin whichNeMonwole his P/;nctpta
TheAgeoi Reasonwasin full bloom!

2, FUNDAMENTAL PROPERNES OF fHE UNIVERSE

'ro descdbe lhe univelse,as w€ knowin the moslbasictems, allwe needis
a handfulof pDpedies.
popenies
A[houohwe al' vervfaailia'w+ lheseoooertos' manvof lhes€
behav;in unexpeded waysunderSpedalRslatiwtv
Vou .u"t realis" thal special Relaiivitv is not difficuft mathematidllv
h;;ever, its mostdiffcult aspeclseemsto be the wav in whichit challenses
ourway in whichwe perc€ivelh€ wodd.
Belowwe reviewsomeof the* properlies

' Theideaof spaceis suggsstedbv cerfainprlmitiveexPenences'

, Supposethsl a box hasbeenconslructsd
. oo;qs en rrenoearangedn a cenanwavInsde lheboxu'lllltistull
'emPV'
. Whenihe€ are no objectsin the box,ns spaceappea€
. The storase@pabilitiesof a box-spacea€ indepsndentof me $icknessol
boxin whichihe thicknessoi lhe wallshas b@n Bducedlo
We can imaginea'space"
zero,withoutihe beinglostas a resun
Thuswithod a boxwe a€ leftwilh space
It thus appearsihat spaceis an independentr€al thingihat @n existWLhout

. AL this staoeit rs salslacbnv tor Ls lo considersoa@ as tfe thEe

o'mln" *p***"r." or ;verylhingws obseNeand eve-ythilgthal
"""1_
 10

Threecoordinates
arenecossaryiotocatea panicutdpointin
spac€.
SDace..allos objectsto nave tengrhsin rhe tetvngtu.up/down,ano
roNaro/oackward
directions

Dlmenslon. "t have alreadysaid nar ir is rmpossrb/e ro @nceivenoc than

A teamFdnan of ny acquakh4e, howewa belg@s one
nght rcga4t dudlion as the foutth dinensan..The tdea may nat be
admitted,bd it seers not to be not withoutne.it, if ir be @ty ki nerit of

DIOEROT
(1777)
Encyctopadie
Cleady. he fme fGvelet prccee.E(],"any realbodl musthavee\tensbns
n bur drcctio1s:it nt* haveLeFgal,Breadth,Thicknessanc|_Dutatan.Btt
throughnalunl infrmity of the qesh. we nchne to avedookthis fact Thera
are-realytour .limensions,threewhichwe @lt the th.ee ptanesof spa@,ana
e, toutlh, ftre...Sore philosophicatpeople hate ben asring wh, lhrce
o,tren'sonpanttutady-why 1ot anoher.tireeon at dght a.gles o the athel
rnree!-and haveevq tied to construdthe FourDnension geomely.,
H.G.WELLS
TheTine Machineh1gs)
. Timeis thefourthd'mension.
. h ou rcrm€llif€,w€ se timeto measu/e thepbcessioiot evsntsin spa@.
. For€:anpE- rhe ot timeornng the day can be msasured
_passage by the
aPPaEntmolion ofiheSunin theskv
. However,time is someihtngmore---$henwe descdbean event,we needboth
spaceandtjmelo characterise it.
. Spaceandtimec€nthusnoi beseparated whsndescnbing an event,Thet$o
are wovenlogetnerin a symbioticmanner
. Without spa@, iime rcutd b€ ustess to us and withoLt
. Thismdual dependence is kno*r as a sp€cei.,me
. In SpeoialRelativity,spa@tjmedoesnot rcquirca unlveBallimecomponent.
. Ihe time componentof events [ial aE vi€wed by peopreln motionwith
€spec1to eacholherwittb€ difierent,
' We will lalershowihat this ctoseretationbetweenspaceandtimealsomeans
the endof lhe conceptof simulianoity.

' lrang|Inthemostfunoanentatdefinilonis a.y ,ngrhartaj\esupspacs

. l4atler
is mroeupmrllpns
oi bittrols
ottiohttypackeoaoms

. Anything
lnalis in theactof changing
irstooatjon
in spaceis saidto be in
 11

Mass
. Generally,massis defned as the measu€ of how muchmalier an objector
body @rnahslhe tolal numberof sub-alomicpafticles(electrcns'polons
. bytheeadhs gEvitypull,ongetsyourw.ight-so one's
lf massis multiplied
w€iqhtdependson the distanceone is fren the surfa@of lhe earth
Inspac€ weightessness.
onewillexperjence
thatmassis independent
to understand
It is important in
ol onesPosition

. one's masson the moonis the sameas ones masson earth

. In physi6, massis delinedas the amounlof forcercquiredlo €u* a bodyto

. I\,lassis very closelyrelatedto energvin phvsi6, as we will show later' via

Einslein'sfamousequationE = mc'?
. For this coursewe will rcqad mass as an in€darn quaniitv,We will laler
di$usstheimplielionof thlsassunption

'rcrt"
. Energyis a measu€ or a system'sabilityto Petform
. ll existsin manyionnHotenlial, kinetic,heat,radiant,mass
. Th€ law of @ns€rvationof energylelis us that €nergv€n nsilherbe c€aled

. Ene€y, can howevarbe @nve.tedfromonefotm !o another

. For examDle.a rcck on Lhelop of a mountainhas potential€nergy'whichis
convededinto kinelic eneqy when it falls. uPon stdkinglo botlom of lhe
mountain,someeneqy is convert€dinto heal-

Light
' Lisht is a fom of enelsy,and existsin Mb con@ptualframeworks:lighthas
birticlesch.Ecteristicsandwavechamctsrisiics-knownas duallty.
. ihis meansthat the samebeamof lightwill bshaveas a padicleandloras a
wavedependlngon lhe expenmeni
Thepadcle fom is knoM as a photon-*thisideais alsodue!o Einsteln
Thewavolom is knownas electrcmagnetic Edialion

A phoionis the lightemitledwhenan atomemitsensrgv

Elecironsobit the alomin vafiouseneav l€velsknownas oirllals

Eacholbitc€nhaveonlyacceptor emita disc€l€amount or energv
lfan alom abefts someenergy,an eleclronclosed!o the nucleus(a |ower
eneay level)will jump 10an orbil that is fadher awav ftom the nlcleus (a
highereneEylevel).
. Theatomusuallydoesnol slay in lhis excitedstate,and lh€ electEn falls
backto a lowerensrgysiate.
. A packetof energy,calleda photonor quanla,will be rel€ased
 12

The wavefomof llghtis actuallva fom oi enersvlhat ls c€aied bv an

Thecharge@nsistsofan oscillating magnelrc

electricfieldandanoscillaling
field,calledelectromagneticradiation
ThetwoosciLlating fieldsarepeDendicularlo oneanother(seeFigurebelow)
Thesehvoosclllringneldsare elled the electicandmagnetic fieldswhich
a€ dueiodlscoveriesby FaEdayandMaxwell

il_ruq;"i'" nura$1c. vdne' i. rre sivesd"e Loar eechc fieLdwFich

neldwhichvanes
An electncneldihat vadesin time givesriselo a magneiic

thoughspaceto slowlv(lessthanthe
an electncpulseis lravelLing
Suppose
i"ir pJ"".""ro qrre nse via Mavels erad' to a wear aid sluggisf

biii . 't'" +.0"v eiiecr'sJcl a puse ca' o11 oe accomprned

"-"."t "a p,
ov*""i t""t'r ll-a. fie puseongi'alv €nvsaoed
"r"".i"impossible
Thisis cleadv ""-
Bothelecficani magneiic neldsfeedofieachother'eachactingas a sou@
neus'andhasa sodof selisustaininq
it'is poistirltvonivinwtveschanging
in !r.,irri"tl" o a magneiicneld
to in"r"aseandsenefates
t"g""t" l"ld lr llm geneEtesanoiherelectricfled which
inl" i""r** in"ru'i"
creaiesmor€magnetcneld andsoon
 13

9. Thus,onlyif theeledncpulsemovesat exacllvthenghtspe€dcanthespaiial

and iemrlorarchangesbe consistent with both Fa€davs and Maxwell's
'lo.Therefo€,ror a glven/r, and eo.there ls onlvone sped c' al whichelectdc
pulsesc€nmovethoughemptyspa@,rte€
- -J- = zsezszl ^.u
" Jro16
= 3 x 1 0 "m s '
of frcesPa@andis a @nslant
11.60is thepemitlivity thataPPearE in
and Gauss'slaws, and /0 is the pemeabilltv of r€e space
constantwhichappearsin the Blot-savadlawandArnpe€s law
'l2.When$le measuredvalu€oi 60 and the definedvalus of & ar€ PUtin
aboveeouation.ths speedoi electomagneticwa!€s are ioundto bo near3 X
1odm/s.;hichisthesme valueaslheressu€d spe€dof lighti e
'I

"l;"k 1
, F 8 3 5 . 1 0" c ' l N t ' ) ( 4 o 1 0 \ / A ' )
=3.00"j0! m/s?
Maxrell not€dihis 'coincidence'wiih g€at ercitemenlsnd corcGllvsurmised
lhat Iightitser Ms an olechomagneticwave

The numberof osciilationsthat an eleclrDhagneticwave undotloesis call€d

its itequency,andfr€quencvrangeof Vsiblelightis onlva smallportionof ths
electromaqnelic spechum
Thehnhe;the i€qlencv,tl'e higherhe energvlhererore gammaEvs aF
themo; enelgetic.ihis iollowsfrcmlhetamousPlanckequation

Ths Lequencyis relatedlo the wavelengthvia

7f=c
so he high€rthefequency,the shonerthe wawlongthas vsa versa
Notethat wh€ntalk aboLnihe speedof light c h rEe sp
soeedol electomslelb wa@swiich Includesthe longs€
i;f6€d. visiDlesDeftrum,ull€violotx'Ev GanmaandcosmicEls
We will discusslhe @nslancvoi the sp€edof llghtin detaillater'
 L
Bo
({h
a/ ffim
L@dBBveld
om-0,d|M14)
b4tua/4edb6dc'b
beairtu&hq44br.&Fdtu
Fisure:Theelectomagnefcspectun. Notetheresionvisibteto the eye
onlv exbncls a s,mal Dottionot s@cttul' betweenabod 100to 700nn.

Fia ure : Electo n ao netic SD@t 7t!11-dstai te.t

./ 3, tuE PRINCIPLEOFRELATM.|Y
. Both Galileoand Newtoi rccoqnisedlhat unifom motionhad no perceivable
efiecton mechani€lststems,
Onec€n playpoolon a movngshlpandneverknowlhs vesselis moving,
rcgadlessof speed,aslongas it is @rslarl.
oneGn juggleorangesin a Boelngwilho'rtbeingableto lell florn
Similarly,
the behaviour oi lhefruiiin thealrwh€lhertheairplane al 800kmfi
is cruising
orwhetherit stationary ontherulMy.
We speakoi a unirom movng observeras an inertlal obseder-someone
standing stillin a lrain,planeor spacsshipihal il seltmoveswilha @nstant

A syslen thatis noing at a constantwlociy is an iie.tial systen.

 15

ar
This is so since the Law ol Inertiaholds in all inerlal sv€iemF an aPPre
ieii in sucrra wittnotsuddenlv slaftio moveunlessanenemalrorce
|sapphsd 1oil."vsre'
of ihs
Considerthe followingobseruationwhich illustralesthe equivalence
tawsof mechaniGin differentineniafEmes
A truckmov€swith conslantvelocityas shownin the Figurebelow

path
Fisut : (a) An obse el in the ttuc* sees the ba move in a vedkal batt
when thrcwn upwaftts. rbl Ihe Eadh obseryerses the P.th of the

rf s Dassenqer ir thelruchtnrcwsthe bal uowardslhe passenge'will seelhe

ball movinq-na v€rtcal parh(neglectingair effecls)
ii. l"rr. i'orio" to beihe sane as il € peeonal r€$ on the Earth
"oo""i"
acceleEtion
The law of s€vity andthe eouatlonsof motionunderconstant
are obeysdwhelherthetruckis at rest or in unifom motlon.

Nexl@nsider thesamesiiuatjonasviewedbvanobseN€rat roston Eanh

ir'J"t i-""j" *"s lhe pathortheballas a parabola'as illusrrated
n rhe(b)oartof"1""."'
h€ Fiqu€abov€
th€ ball has a rrEontal @mponsnt ol velocitv
,q"-'i.Ji"
"i" "o""t.
eoualto the v€locitY of the trucl
ii'i",." n r*" asaoreeon cerlan aspensol the stualion lhev
;;;';;'i;;;;ilt" "1r**"- N"v'ao;s ras and o' rhe crass@rpincFresor
;n=€ruation of en6mv"i anocons€rvation ol linesrmomenlum
it']" is;".*t i.iire. r"ar no necha'id exDedment €n derecianv
ditfe€ncebetweenth€n{o insrtialframes
ir" n'J r*t -" oeder€cred is t1erc/anwm'on or onerrameor
"iiir with€speclloihe olher'
observatDn
ii.J"-. ,r," ro*rute motonthousnspacais msaninsless asis
""*i "r i'. me ot refeftnce
the noton of a prEiered
l ne Classical PdnctPle of Reraaiviivther€forestates
ol
7E ta6 ot m*hanics tr,us/b the sa.l,ein a indlia fnnEs
 16

abso/uis and relalive

. NeMon had struggledwiih the distinctionbetween
some$herein thevaslUnveEe
' ie ,*noer.o .r'"t.l"' tele wassomelhins 6rrnorion
ihliiliiiiiri ;;il";.v. somelhhs dtresrrromwhich
absrulterv
corlldbe reckonedabsollt€ly? immovable
. 'r-trofOspaceto Oea resi"wroteNevton-spac€' unchanglngand
washGtixedlramsof rcie€ncs
. ;;il;;;; ih; 18s8sa mononress rjrred
e{her andprcvided
arrsPace a
mltenai tr aosotute
oacrarcp tle univeB€
restthrcughoul
. SoihrngsmoveaOsotule sther'
v when( moveswnhrespeclto lhe
n prcvideda m€diJmror .. .
lisht
. ir." *."0 two lunc
lheoreli@l ons:
"ti.andil wasa sgnposlforabsolde€st
waves,

' suggests lhat rot Nst the lawsof mechanics are th€ samein
-"vir"r"li,*
Exoenenc€
.Jn'i atu*. phlsicsse thesameforinertlaobseNe6
-. i;ts is ;xac v whalEristein "tsal oLrlo proveIn lne iamous1905pap€r-rhe
r'J:;::6il;;;;;;r rr generat atiphvsics tawsshourdb€the'"me ror
inedialobserue.sin inenjalsyslems
1, CLASSICALGALILEANRELATIVI|Y
EvenB,Coordlnatesan.! Referen@Franes three
]' r.-"rent is sometr'rq lttar happenslo $fiicn an obseruer@n assign
sDac€coodinaiesandonetime@odinale andor a
-. i"i*Lr ."""i.rt * ,hestnk'nsor a lisnhinsboh theumrnso' a c'ock
ii";iilil ft;i#; *. partic-res'
rhecoircidence handor
ortne
;th a ma*erontheim ofq clock (time);
. nn .".r't i" *t"f ingtl'at happensat a pa culff placeandinslant
. ii i" i,J.* t" sav an eventhappenedat suchand such a time withour
sDecfvinaalsowhereit haPp€ned
. ;li.irri' -.0.-loded ar12o dock-bu wf6re?
" n"pp"*d at anvplaceon Eafthor thesomewhere in lhe
. ir'i" l",rii ", r,"'"
Universe forthalmatier'
'. i"r" evenrls specified ov ar observer bv €ssisnin!il iour
" ""n""r. p"siio; coodinat$, v, z tharmeasu€s thedistan@
liiiiii..-",'iGlr*" is loc€red ad a
i-. r'# l"o'" ortn" svslenwhsretneobser€t
"i.,o,"ares recorlswrthhiscloc\'
'iii" -"J'irr. tt'"ttt..t"eN€r
wirhrh€esPatra' clordnares () v z) andore tme
'. 1,"i"1""'ti"*.
i.,'-JI",i-" ,ri r" *t"i:"rr".* tercnceftane ot a rftne ot rcretence frameisa
. ii,"i.t, '"ti.'rlt*l " poinlorviewranoRelavilv)a ref€reFce
ioudimeisionalspac€l'it€afiair'
. ;; ;il i; lre so crosetvlink€din elativitvthat we descdberhem
; ectvav asspa@ne
wilhhowan evefidescribed i1
.' Amonost oherlhings€'stv1vrs @ncened
...-*]il"ii r..;".rd€dio itsdesciDton i' anothsrt'e€n@rrame
 17

rhal rererene frames

ln oanicu|ar,fis SpedalTheoryof Relativilv€qwes eso with€sPect ro
lil.il""iii"ii!"iii."irv 'erc veto"'tv-€r
r,ncti,oins earl'6'
menironed
t ,t'" *,i"i.a€nr ol theFi6rPosturate
"!"i"iii.ij'r''
i"Jll;i'I F;;;';"i;; movino arearso@lsd
verocitv
wirhconstant
in.rtial rcfersncefEmes or a
Nolethatan obseNern an accele€ling €r' a rctalingmerry-go-round,
These a€
descendmg roller@asteris not in an inenElfEm€ ol reiersn@
Theory of Relativity
etted nonindnal rerarencefames snd Ine Genefal
descnbessuchevents.
f ra nsfot m alion Equ arions {and
'l'-ii. il"t'a'-re howtheiourspace andtme @ordinares
"i,ljiri"
;;;;i;;;"1#"-.*s enerevanderectri€randmasneric
mornenrum
rcte€nce
rosnother
a€ '|€rated rEne
ilili""Jii'iJ i'"-";r".lce irame
arc ett;d the tansfo.mation equations
. i* ,- futn", -r" tcnslormalion equalionsin lhe conbn of cha'ging
polar'elc
io"rain"L"sv"tet" savt o. r€ctangularto
ol
. consder$doobseN€rs o ando thrl ar€eachal re$ ir lhekoM fiames

. i'iiil"lff"."" ." with€ribrated sothat

andcrocks
mete-ticks
".,'oPedoi events-
ihevcanmasurecoodinales po'd
at a padicura'
shich haPpens m sPac€
. ilil;;;ih;
""'. "vent,
'. ilLT:l.J'2,'fi: ",""e and me@odinares orhe eve'tsae r' v z '|
arc' v' 2"t
ii#'!lXal,'iiJ oii';Loruirate'ottresa-ee"ent V alwayslies
veloclty
thatlherelative
-. W" .'t",'ft tni t**"'"n ovassuhing berow .
;;"; i#;";.." , r' di;dionasshowrinthsFsu€(and
*.cry or o' €s measu€dbv o rhuso wou'd
. i;, i;;;-;"
measure velocity-V lor o)

coodinates \"! z with

riour., an oOi.a o, en"nt at Point P is at
'i.*^
i ct.'tn., neasured bvo is \= t tvt ' Thev an'tz
cooft ntes o anda"*anav
a!9j!9:3IE