Intro to Special Relativity Exam
What is the first postulate of special relativity? - ANSWER-States that the laws of physics are equivalent in all inertial reference frames (Principle of Relativity) What is the second postulate of special relativity? - ANSWER-The speed of light, c, is the same in all reference frames. It is an absolute. Michelson-Morley Experiment - ANSWER-An experiment in 1879 that showed that the speed of light is constant to all observers. Frame of Reference - ANSWER-A system of objects that are not moving with respect to one another (traveling at same velocity) Spacetime Diagram - ANSWER-a graph that plots a spatial dimension on one axis and time on another axis. In your frame of reference, an even happens at (x,ct). In another frame, it happens at (x',ct'). Lorentz Transformations - ANSWER-Equations that relate the measurements of different observers who are moving relative to each other. They map (x,ct) onto (x',ct')... Δx'=ɣ(Δx-βΔct) ; Δct'=ɣ(Δct-βΔx)
Written for
- Institution
- Intro to Special Relativity
- Course
- Intro to Special Relativity
Document information
- Uploaded on
- August 28, 2023
- Number of pages
- 1
- Written in
- 2023/2024
- Type
- Exam (elaborations)
- Contains
- Questions & answers
Subjects
-
intro to special relativity
-
intro to special relativity exam
Document also available in package deal