SPECIJALNA TEORIJA

RELATIVNOSTI
Toni Šćulac

Prirodoslovno Matematički Fakultet u Splitu

Akademska godina 2020/2021
 LECTURES OUTLINE 2

1) Failure of Newtonian mechanics. The Inertia of Energy.

2) Einstein-Lorentz transformations.
EINSTEIN’S FAMOUS PAPER 3

“Examples of this sort, together with the unsuccessful attempts to

discover any motion of the earth relatively to the “light medium,”
suggest that the phenomena of electrodynamics as well as of
mechanics possess no properties corresponding to the idea of
absolute rest. They suggest rather that, as has already been shown
to the first order of small quantities, the same laws of
electrodynamics and optics will be valid for all frames of reference
for which the equations of mechanics hold good. We will raise this
conjecture (the purport of which will hereafter be called the “Principle
of Relativity”) to the status of a postulate, and also introduce another
postulate, which is only apparently irreconcilable with the former,
namely, that light is always propagated in empty space with a
definite velocity c which is independent of the state of motion of the
emitting body.” (1905.)
 THE RELATIVITY PRINCIPLE 4

๏ In all inertial reference frames the laws of physics are the same
๏ included in the Newtonian mechanics
๏ In Newtonian mechanics Galilean transformations give relations between the
two inertial reference frames

x′ = x − vt x = x′ + vt′
y′ = y y = y′
z′ = z z = z′
t′ = t t = t′

๏ Newtonian mechanics is invariant under Galilean transformations for all forces

that depend on the relative distance of the objects F12 = m2a2
′
F12 = m′2a′2
 EINSTEIN’S NEW LAW OF PHYSICS 5

๏ Motivated by the fact that laws of Maxwell equations should also be the same
in all inertial reference frames Einstein added a new law of physics:
The speed of light in empty space always has the same value c
๏ Crucial importance given to the definition of synchronisation
Now we must bear carefully in mind that a mathematical description of this kind has no physical
meaning unless we are quite clear as to what we understand by “time.” We have to take into
account that all our judgments in which time plays a part are always judgments of simultaneous
events. If, for instance, I say, “That train arrives here at 7 o’clock,” I mean something like this:
“The pointing of the small hand of my watch to 7 and the arrival of the train are simultaneous
events.”
 MEASUREMENTS IN THE REST FRAME 6

๏ In order to perform a measurement we have to define a reference frame

๏ We can define a Cartesian coordinate system in a following way:
๏ stationary observer that is performing a measurement is always located at the centre of the
coordinate system, meaning his coordinates are (x=0,y=0,z=0) at t=0 and every other time
๏ every axis is equipped with meter sticks so that for every point observer can measure its x, y,
and z coordinates using these meter sticks and thus define its position (x,y,z) in its coordinate
system
๏ every point of the coordinate system is equipped with a clock and all the clocks are
synchronised, meaning that all the clocks are set to t=0 in the beginning
๏ reading of the time on the clock located at the position (x,y,z) where the event happened
simultaneously to when the event happened gives a time measurement of the event t

๏ We will call a reference frame defined in such way a rest frame

 INERTIAL REFERENCE FRAMES 7

๏ An Inertial Reference Frame (IRF) is a reference frame where a body with no

force acting on it moves with constant velocity or is at rest
๏ We can define a Cartesian coordinate system of a moving observer:
๏ moving observer that is performing a measurement is always located at the centre of his
(moving) coordinate system, meaning his coordinates are (x’=0,y’=0,z’=0) at t=0 and every other
time
๏ he measures time in his coordinate system using his set of clock that are at rest at every point of
his coordinate system (x’,y’,z’) and assigns events with a time measurement t’

๏ Let us now assume that moving observer is moving with constant velocity v in
direction x as measured by the stationary observer
๏ in the moving reference frame, moving observer concludes that he is at rest
๏ Our goal is to determine the relationship between measurements performed in
two different inertial frames
๏ what is the mathematical relationship between (x,y,z,t) and (x’,y’,z’,t’) for the same event
 NEWTONIAN FRAMES 8

๏ Using Newtonian mechanics:

x = ct
x′ = x − vt

0
t
t

x=v
c

x’=
ct =
x′ = (c − v)t x

x=0
๏ we conclude that the speed of light is
not the same in every reference frame
๏ In direct contradiction with the new law
of physics that the speed of light is a
constant and same in every reference
frame
x
 CLOCK SYNCHRONISATION 9

๏ The assumption that t=t’ in every inertial reference frame has to be

reconsidered
๏ Consider clock synchronisation in a rest frame
๏ Clocks A and B send light signal to Einstein (C) at the same time
๏ If two light signals arrive at the same time the two clocks are synchronised
๏ If A and B are synchronised for the observer at rest, they are not synchronised
for the moving observer!
 SPECIAL RELATIVITY FRAMES 10

๏ Assume that the rest frame and the

l
moving frame are in sync at x=x’=t=t’=0

t+2
t+l
0
t
and the clocks A,B,C match clocks

x=v
x=v
x=v
ct

x’=
A’,B’,C’

x=0
๏ In the moving reference frame clock
synchronisation is performed so that A’ C’
and B’ send a light signal at the same t’=0
time t’=t=0 so it arrives at C’ at the same
time B’
t=0
๏ It is obvious from the spacetime diagram x
A C B
that simultaneity lines in two different
reference frames are not the same t ≠ t′
 THE EINSTEIN-LORENTZ TRANSFORMATIONS 11

๏ Using the principle of relativity and the new physics law that the speed of light
is always the same, and by solving the problem of finding the simultaneity line
(t’=0) in the moving reference frame we arrive to a new set of transformations
called the Lorentz transformations
๏ Lorentz, who believed the luminiferous aether hypothesis, derived the transformation under
which Maxwell's equations are invariant when transformed from the aether to a moving frame

x′ = γ(x − vt) x = γ(x′ + vt′)

y′ = y y = y′
z′ = z z = z′
v v
t′ = γ(t − 2 x) t = γ(t′ + 2 x′)
c c
 TIME MINKOWSKI SPACETIME 12

“Space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away into mere
shadows, and only a kind of union of the two will preserve an independent
reality.”
- Minkowski (1908)

Minkowski spacetime
diagrams are a great way of
visualising effects of the
special theory of relativity
and understanding their
sometimes strange
implications
 LENGTH CONTRACTION 13

๏ Measurement of the length of the same ct

t’
object from two different frames:

x=0

x=l
๏ suppose we measure |AB| in the rest frame
๏ in the moving reference frame we have to x’
measure |AB’|, otherwise with |AB| we are
B’
measuring the distance between two events
t=0
that did not happen at the same time!
A B x
๏ The principle of relativity requires that ct

t’
length contraction is symmetrical

0
x’=

l
x’=
x’
Δl0
Δl =
γ B
t=0
A B’ x
 TIME DILATION 14

๏ Measuring time elapsed from A to B ct

t’
on a clock that does not move in
space in the corresponding reference B’ t=tAB
frame B
x’
๏ The observer will measure the
moving clock as ticking slower than a t=0
A
clock that is at rest in the observer's x
own reference frame ct

t’
Δt = γΔt0 t ’ = t A B
B t’=0
B’
x’

A
x
 SOME NUMBERS 15

๏ For speeds that are much slower than the speed of light Lorentz
transformations reduce to Galilean transformations
๏ For v=10 km/s (Earth escape velocity) 𝜸=1.00000000056, v/c2=0.00000000011

๏ Perfect explanation why we do not see the effects of special theory of relativity in everyday life
๏ Relativistic effects of order 10% appear for v = 0.4c = 120000 km/s, only particles can achieve
such speed

x′ = γ(x − vt) x′ = x − vt
y′ = y v << c y′ = y
z′ = z z′ = z
v t′ = t
t′ = γ(t − 2 x)
c