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Solution to HW-2
(Numbers refer to 2nd Edition)
Q9. Give a physical argument to show that it is impossible to accelerate an object of mass
m to the speed of light, even with a continuous force acting on it.
A9. There is probably more than one way to phrase the answer to this question. One way
is to say that it requires an infinite amount of work by the force to achieve the desired
speed, in other words it is impossible to accelerate a particle of finite mass m to the
speed of light.
Q11. Because mass is a measure of energy, can we conclude that a compressed spring has
more mass than the same spring when it is not compressed? On the basis of your answer,
which has more mass, a spinning planet or an otherwise identical but nonspinning planet?
A11. Since mass is proportional to the total energy, the compressed spring would have
more mass than the uncompressed one because of the added elastic potential energy.
Similarly a rotating planet would have more mass than a similar nonrotating planet
because of the added rotational kinetic energy.
(See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass-energy_equivalence for more details on this
subject)
Q13. What happens to the density of an object as its speed increases, as measured by an
Earth observer?
A13. Since the mass of the object increases and its volume decreases, its density will
increase as seen by an Earth observer.
Pb7. How fast must a meter stick be moving if its length is observed to shrink to 0.5 m?
Sol7. Let L0 be the proper length of the meter stick and let v be the speed with which it
is moving with respect to a fixed reference frame. Its length L as measured in this
reference frame is L
Since
L0
L
v2
c
L0
c.
L
1
, we have v 0.866 c
L0
2
Pb22. An observer on Earth observes two spacecrafts moving in the same direction
toward the Earth. Space craft A appears to have a speed of 0.50 c , and spacecraft B
appears to have a speed of 0.80 c . What is the speed of spacecraft A measured by an
observer in spacecraft B.
Sol22. To solve this problem we need only use the Lorentz transformation for the
velocities. Let v 0.50 c be the speed of spacecraft A and let V 0.80 c be the
Sol31. Let p mv be the momentum of the particle. Since the particle is moving in a
circle under the influence of a magnetic field B , its speed is constant and the only
acceleration is the centripetal acceleration. We have
dp
d
dv
dv
v2
v
v
mv m F m
F
m
mv p
dt
dt
dt
dt
R
R
R
F ev B F evB
We used the fact that the particle is moving at right angle with respect to the magnetic
field. Equating the two expressions for the force F , we get
p
is
the
speed
of
v
ceBR
evB p eBR
,
R
c
light.
Notice
that
the
units
of
ceBR are
Lorentz magnetic force formula. On the other hand, since 1 eV = 1.6 x 10 -19 J, and since e
eV
. Since c 3 10 8 m/s and since
E 2 p2c2
Sol41. Let E and p be the energy and momentum of the particle of proper mass m in the
frame S. We have E mc 2 and p mv . One can easily show that E 2 p 2 c 2 m 2 c 4 .
Let E and p be the energy and momentum of the same particle as seen in a frame S. We
have:
(a)
v
mc 2
v 2
1 2
c
v V
vV
1 2
c
mc 2
1 v V
1 2
vV
c
1 2
c
mv
v 2
1 2
c
v V
m
vV
1 2
c
1 v V
vV
c2
1 2
c
v V
1 vV 2
c
m2c 4 m2c 2
E 2 p2c 2
1 v V
1 2
c vV
1 2
c
QED
m 2c 4