Homework #2

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 Physics 311
Special Relativity
Lecture 6:
Addition of velocities. 4-velocity.

OUTLINE

Addition of velocities general case

The extremes: speed of light and v<<c
Transverse velocity
4-velocity space and time, unite!
4-vectors are not scary, they are nice.
 Addition of velocities
Lab frame at rest, Rocket frame moving at speed v along the x-axis.
The Lab coordinates are x, y, z and t;
the Rocket coordinates are x, y, z and t
Initial conditions: t = t = 0; the origins coincide
A bullet is fired at speed u along the x axis in the Rocket frame.
What is the speed of the bullet in the Lab frame?
z z

v
t t

x x

y y u
 Define and analyze events
Event 1: the bullet is fired; coordinates: (x1, t1) and (x1, t1) (y,z are not
important)
Event 2: the bullet its the target; coordinates: (x2, t2) and (x2, t2)
Bullet speed in Rocket frame: (x2 x1)/(t2 t1) x/t = u
Bullet speed in Lab frame: (x2 x1)/(t2 t1) x/t = ?

z z

v
t t

x x

y y
Event 1
Event 2
Transform time and distance, then divide
t1 = vx1 + t1
t2 = vx2 + t2
x1 = x1 + vt1
x2 = x2 + vt2
Then: x = (x2 x1) = (x2 x1) + v(t2 t1) = x + vt
t = (t2 t1) = v(x2 x1) + (t2 t1) = vx + t
Bullet velocity in the Lab frame:
u = x/t = (x + vt)/(vx + t)
= (x + vt)/(vx + t) (time-stretch cancels!)

= (x/t + v)/(vx/t +1) (divide by t)

u = (u + v)/(1 + uv)
 Speed of Light
Special case: u = c 1. Then:
u = (c + v)/(1 + cv) = (1 + v)/(1 + v) = 1 c
Speed of light is the same in all inertial frames!

z z

v
t t

x x

y y
 Another extreme: v << 1
Then:
u = (u + v)/(1 + uv) (u + v)/1 = u + v (since uv << 1 even for u = c = 1)
The Galilean velocity addition!
This is good news a new theory should agree with the old theory
where the old theory works, or where the effects of the new theory are not
noticeable.
What about the transformations for time and distance? (Notice: v << 1
means that 1)
t = vx + t
Lorentz transformations
x = x + vt

t = vx + t classical transformations
x = x + vt
Not quite Galilean! Galileo assumed c = , the term vx is due to
different synchronization of clocks
 What about the orthogonal velocity?
We have seen that the displacements orthogonal to the direction
relative motion of reference frames do not change: y = y and z = z.
Does this imply that the orthogonal velocity does not change either?
NO! And why is that? Because time changes when we go between
frames!
Event 2

z z

v
t t

x u x

y y
Event 1
 In the Lab frame...
Velocity acquires a component along x according to the velocity addition
formula: ux = (0 + v)/(1 + 0v) = v
Assume that both v and u are very close to speed of light. If the
orthogonal velocity remained the same, then we would have:
u = (v2 + u2)1/2 > c !!!

Event 2
z z

v
t t

x u x

y y
Event 1
 So, orthogonal velocity must change -
lets derive it!
t1 = vx1 + t1
t2 = vx1 + t2
z 1 = z 1
z 2 = z 2
Then: z = (z2 z1) = (z2 z1) = z
t = (t2 t1) = v(x1 x1) + (t2 t1) = t
Orthogonal velocity in the Lab frame:
u = z/t = z/t = u/ = u(1 v2)1/2
u = u(1 v2)1/2
 Lorentz transformations separate time
and space!
There are transformations for space, and then there are transformations
for time:

t = vx + t
x = x + vt

Space and time transform differently! What can we do to reunite them?

 The march of 4-vectors

In the spirit of treating space and time as one entity the spacetime
we will introduce the 4-vectors.
4-vectors are 4-dimensional vectors whose three coordinates
correspond to space, and the fourth (or first, as is usually the case) is
related to time.
You have already met one 4-vector: the displacement X = {ct,x,y,z}
Other examples are: 4-velocity, energy-momentum, force-power.
4-vectors have special metric for example, the length of the
displacement 4-vector is |X| = s = ((ct)2 (x2 + y2 + z2))1/2 the minus
sign!
4-vectors transform between inertial frame as the interval i.e. their
absolute value is invariant.
 4-velocity
4-velocity of a moving particle in an inertial frame is the first derivative of
the displacement 4-vector measured in that frame with respect to
particles proper time :
U = ds/d
Lets assume that the particle is moving at velocity u with respect to the
Lab frame. Displacement and time in the particle frame are x, t;
displacement and time in the Lab frame are x, t.
The displacement 4-vector in the Lab frame: s = {ct, x, y, z};
the proper time is the interval in the particles frame: = s = {ct, 0, 0, 0}.
Infinitesimals: ds = {cdt, dx, dy, dz}
d = {cdt, 0, 0, 0}
 4-velocity components
Time-component:
U0 = cdt/cdt = (udr + dt)/dt
We are considering a general case of particle moving along an
arbitrary direction, so all velocity components are in general
non-zero. Lorentz-transformation for time then depends on total
velocity u and radius-vector r.
U0 = u(dr/dt) + (dt/dt) =
(remember: dr/dt = 0 is particles velocity in its rest frame)
The time-component is thus simply time-stretch factor . How could it
be? - you ask, - shouldnt it have dimensionality of velocity?
It should and it does! Our strange units simply hide it. Remember: our
velocity is unitless. In fact, we can, and we should, write the time-
component of 4-velocity as c (remembering that c = 1).
 4-velocity components
Space-components:
U1 = dx/cdt = (dx + uxdt)/dt
Here, ux is the x-component of particles velocity in the Lab
frame. Lorentz transformations for x, y and z will depend
on ux, uy and uz, respectively.
U1 = (dx/dt) + ux(dt/dt) = ux
The other two:
U2 = (dy/dt) + uy(dt/dt) = uy
U3 = (dz/dt) + uz(dt/dt) = uz
The whole 4-velocity vector is then:
U = {c, ux, uy, uz}
 4-velocity magnitude
Recall: the claim was that the 4-velocity absolute value is invariant, just
like the interval is. What is this value?
The 4-velocity vector: U = {c, ux, uy, uz}. Its absolute value:
|U| = ((c)2 [(ux)2 + (uy)2 + (uz)2])1/2
= (c2 u2 )1/2
= c (1 (u/c)2 )1/2
|U| = c
Well, true indeed, the speed of light is the same in all inertial frames,
what can be better?!
But what is the meaning of this? Sure, this seems strange whatever
the particles 3-velocity u might be, the 4-velocity magnitude is always the
speed of light!
 4-velocity magnitude: the meaning
Lets go into the particle rest frame. There, particles 3-velocity
components are all zero, the time-stretch factor is 1 (no time stretching
in the rest frame!), and the 4-velocity there is:
Urest = {c, 0, 0, 0}
As you can see, the time-component of the 4-velocity is exactly the
speed of light. Even though the particle is at rest, it is still traveling along
the 4th dimension time! That travel happens at the speed of light, so to
speak.
The 4-velocity has a nice way of reminding us that everything around us
happens in spacetime, and even an object at rest in space is moving
through time.
If we accept that time-travel velocity is c, then the time-stretch factor
has a very nice meaning: the time-travel velocity is times faster in
moving frames (U = {c, ux, uy, uz}). The time is stretched, and we
need to go faster to keep up!
 4-vectors in general
4-vectors defined as any set of 4 quantities which transform under
Lorentz transformations as does the interval. Such transformation is
usually defined in the form of a matrix:
-v 0 0
-v 0 0
M=
0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1
The transformation for the 4-velocity is then simply:
U = MU , or for its components:
U0 = (U0) - v(U1)
U1 = -v(U0) + (U1)
U2 = (U2)
U3 = (U3)
Notice that the orthogonal components of the 4-velocity do not
change!
 4-vectors are useful!

4-vectors are very useful. Do not be intimidated by their apparent

complexity. Well be seeing a lot more of them when we study the
relativistic dynamics force, momentum and energy.