Modern Physics

Lecture -1
 SCOPE

 Reference frame
 Special theory of relativity postulates
 Galilean transformation
 Lorentz Transformation
 Length contraction
 Time Dilation
 Relativity of mass
 Classical Mechanics – Modern Physics/Quantum Mechanics
 Classical Mechanics deals with set of physical laws such as motion of body under the
influence of forces also called as Newtonian Mechanics (Year of 1800 to 1930)
 Classical Mechanics applies only to microscopic/large objects/everyday particles such
as car, trucks, planet etc ( what ever objects you can see with your naked eyes where
we can apply Newtons law of motion)

 Classical Mechanics could not explain the Rutherford scattering, nuclear structure,
electron emission spectrum, the concept of light corpuscle theory, black body radiation
etc.
 Classical Mechanics fails to study very small objects that is macroscopic objects
 According to classical mechanics position and momentum of a particle can be
determined simultaneously but this is not possible according to Heisenberg uncertainty
principle
 According to Classical Mechanics energy is absorbed or emitted continuously but Planks
quantum theory of light energy is absorbed or emitted discontinuously in the form of
packets called quanta ( particle) and photons (for light) that classical mechanics could
not explain
 Classical Mechanics – Modern Physics/Quantum Mechanics

Newtons laws of motion does not tell

 Whether there is one or many inertial frames of

reference
 How we are to relate the coordinates of event as
observed from the point of view of one inertial
reference frame to the coordinates of the same event
as observed in some other.
 Quantum Mechanics

 The branch of science which deals with the study of various

theoretical and mathematical relationships between energy and
matter ( After 1930)

 Provides description of physical properties of nature of scale of

atoms and subatomic particles

 It attempts to describe properties of molecules, atoms and their

constituents' electrons, protons and neutrons and also
elementary particles like quarks and gluons
 Frame of Reference
A frame of reference is a co-ordinate system by which the motion of a body can be
described. There are two frames of reference:
 Inertial frame of reference ( Galilean /Newtonian frame of Reference)
 Non-inertial frame of reference.
 Inertial frame of reference:
o An inertial frame of reference is one in which Newton’s first law of motion
is true/holds good.

o It may be stated in another way as, “The frames with respect to which an
unaccelerated body appears unaccelerated are inertial frames.”
o It another words, “The frames which are at rest or in uniform translatory
motion relative to one another are inertial frames.”

o Any frame of reference that moves at constant/uniform velocity is inertial

frame reference (a=0)
 Frame of Reference
 Non-inertial frame of reference:

o A non-inertial frame of reference

is one in which Newton’s first law
of motion is not true.
o It may be stated in another way
as, “The frames with respect to
which an unaccelerated body
appears accelerated are non-
inertial frames.”
o Here a ≠ 0
o If a frame of reference is
accelerated with respect to an Non-Inertial Frame
inertial frame of reference , the S S’ a
basic laws become different is
called no-inertial frame of
reference.
 Relativity
 It is a theory of physics that says, all motion must be defined relative to a
frame of reference and that space and times are relative. This theory says that,
measurement of space and time are affected by the relative motion between
an observer and what is observed. The theory of relativity is divided into two
parts.
 Special theory of relativity.
 General theory of relativity

 Special theory of relativity - The natural phenomenon happening in inertial

frame of reference is explained by means of special theory of relativity.

 General theory of relativity - The natural phenomenon happening in non-

inertial frame of reference is explained by means of general theory of
relativity.
 Postulates of special theory of relativity
The special theory of relativity is based upon two
postulates:

(i) The principle of relativity: The laws of physics are the

same/invariant with respect to observers in all inertial
frames of reference.

Explanation: If the laws of physics were different for

different observers in relative motion, the observer would
determine from these differences which of them were
stationary in space and which were moving. But such a
distinction does not exist and the principle of relativity
expresses this.
(ii) The principle of universality of speed of light: The
speed of light in free space (in vacuum) has the same value
in all inertial frames of reference/observers.

Explanation: According to this postulate the speed of light

is same in all directions. No matter whether the source of
light is moving or stationary.
 Postulates of special theory of relativity cont---

Einstein proved the following facts based on his theory of relativity. If v be the velocity of
spaceship with respect to a given fame of reference. The observations are made by an
observer in that reference frame.
 All clocks on the spaceship will go slow by a factor of (time)

 All objects on the spaceship will have contradicted in length by a factor (length)

 The mass of spaceship increases by a factor (relativity of mass)

 Mass and energy are interconvertible ( mass into energy)

E=mc2

 The speed of material object can never exceed the velocity of light. (c is constant)
 Galilean transformation
So, it is necessary to transform the co-ordinates from one reference frame to other. The
transformation of co-ordinates of a particle from one inertial frame of reference to another
inertial frame of reference is called the Galilean transformation.
Let us consider two co-ordinate systems, one inertial system S and another S’ moving
uniformly with respect to S with velocity v. The geometric representation of the above
system is given below

If clocks in the both systems are started when the origins of S and S’ coincide,
measurements in x-direction made in S will be greater than those made in S’ by the amount
vt, which is the distance S’ has moved in the x-direction. i.e.

------ ----- (1)

 Galilean transformation

There is no relative motion in y- and z-directions and so

It is assumed that both systems are using the same time. It means that time
measurements are independent of the motion.

The set of equations (1), (2), (3) and (4) are called Galilean transformation
equations
 Galilean transformation (velocity component)

To convert velocity component measured in S frame to their equivalent in the S’

frame according to Galilean transformation, we have to differentiate simply x’ ,
y’ and z‘ with respect to t. Thus
 Invariance of Newton’s law of motion
The force acting on a particle as According to Galilean transformation
observed in frame S is given by

Differentiating the above equation w. r. to t

we get

The force acting on the particle as From equation (1) and (2) we can write
observed in frame S’ is given by
F=F’
It means followings:
 Same force will be observed in two
inertial frames of reference S and S‘ .
 Force is invariant in Galilean
transformation.
 Newton’s second law of motion is valid
in all inertial frames of reference. i.e.
the basic laws of physics are invariant in
two inertial frames of reference
 Failure of Galilean transformation

 The second postulates of relativity calls for the same value of the speed of
light c when determined in S or S’. This contradicts with Galilean
transformation. If we measure the speed of light in x-direction in S system to
be c, in S’ system it will be
c’=c-v
 So clearly a different transformation (i,e Lorentz transformation) is required
if the postulates of special relativity are to be satisfied
 Lorentz transformation
The equation c’=c-v means that if a person is moving in spaceship, the speed of
passing light will be (c-v). But all attempts to show that the velocity of light
changes with the motion of the observer have failed. The velocity of light remains
constant in free space according to postulates of special theory of relativity. The
equation x’=x-vt is in accordance with the ordinary laws of mechanics. The new
transformation equation similar to that equation is x’= k(x-vt) has been
introduced where k depends on v. This is Lorentz transformation.
Here,
1
K
 Lorentz transformation
The Lorentz transformation are set of transformation equations that connect coordinate
space and time between two observers in relative motion . These equations are consistent
with the theory of relativity.

The Lorentz transformation equations are The inverse Lorentz transformation

equations are
 Length contraction
Length contraction is a phenomena it happens
only in a long distances in direction of relative
motion. It does not happen perpendicular to
the relative motion.
Consider the inertial systems S and S’.
The system S’ is moving to the right along
x-axis with a uniform velocity v with
respect to S. The object A’ B’ (rod) lying
parallel to its x’ -axis. The coordinates of According to the Lorentz transformation
its ends are x1’ and x2’ . If L0 the proper equation
length of the rod then the length of the
rod measured by an observer in the
frame S’ .

We can write

If x1 and x2 be the coordinates of the ends

of the same rod in the frame S, then the
length of the object lying in the moving
frame S’ as measured by S
 Length contraction
Thus, we can write
 Time Dilation
 According to special theory of relativity it is observed that the time intervals are
affected by relative motion between an observer and what is observed.
 An interval of time observed in a moving frame of reference will be less than the time in
a stationary frame of reference.
 Time dilation is the elongation of time while observed some event in the moving frame
of reference from the ground.
 Mathematical expression
 Consider a train at point A moving with a velocity v towards B.
 Consider another object at D.
 The distance covered between A and B is vt.
 The light coming from point A and B will cover a distance ct 0 and ct
respectively.
A vt B

ct0

ct
 Time Dilation

A vt B

ct0
ct

From figure we can write

(ct)2 = ( ct0 )2+ (vt) 2

Or, c2t2 = c2t0 2 + v2t2 So, the interval of time observed in a moving
frame of reference will be less than the same
Or, c2t2 - v2t2 = c2t0 2
interval of time observed in a stationary frame
of reference. The phenomenon is known as time
Or, c2t2 ( 1 - v2/c2 ) = c2t0 2 dilation.

Or, t2 = t0 2 / (t10 - v2/c2 )

t

This is the equation of time dilation

 Relativity of mass
It is the mass of a body in motion relative to the observer. It is equal to the rest mass
multiplied by a factor that is greater than 1 and that increases as the magnitude of the
velocity increases. The relativistic mass is a function of the rest mass and the velocity of
the object. If the rest mass of a body is m0 then the mass of the body in motion is

When a particle moves with the speed of light, v=c then . So that we can write

Thus, the mass of a particle becomes infinite when it moves with the speed of
light.
 Problems
What is the length of a meter stick moving parallel to its length when its mass is 3/2 of its
rest mass?
 Problems
A spacecrafts is moving relative to the earth. An observer on the earth finds that, according
to her clock, 3601 s elapse between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., on the spacecraft’s clock. What is
the spacecrafts speed relative to the earth?
 Problems for Practice
An electron has a kinetic energy of 5.00 keV. Find its speed and mass in terms of its rest
mass.
Problems for Practice
 Problems for Practice

Problem 1: The rest mass of a proton is 2000 times the rest mass of an electron.
Calculate the speed at which the electron can move.

Problem 2: A particle of mass 10-24 kg is moving with a speed of 1.8 x 108 m/s.
Calculate its mass when it is in motion.

Problem 3: The total energy of a particle is exactly twice its rest mass energy. Calculate
its speed.

Problem 4: A man has a mass of 100 kg on the ground. When he is in a spacecraft in flight,
his mass is 101 kg as determined by an observer on the ground. What is the speed of the
craft