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Ch. 36 - The Special Theory of Relativity
Giancoli Douglas - Physics for Scientists and Engineers 5th edition
Giancoli Douglas5th editionPhysics for Scientists and EngineersISBN: 9780137488179Not the one you use?Change textbook
Chapter 35, Problem 56

Make a graph of the kinetic energy versus momentum for (a) a particle of nonzero mass, and (b) a particle with zero mass.

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Understand the relationship between kinetic energy (K) and momentum (p) for a particle with nonzero mass. The kinetic energy is given by the formula: K = \(\frac{p^2}{2m}\), where p is the momentum and m is the mass of the particle. This equation shows that kinetic energy is proportional to the square of the momentum for a particle with mass.
For a particle with zero mass (e.g., a photon), the relationship between energy and momentum is different. The energy is given by E = pc, where p is the momentum and c is the speed of light. Since kinetic energy is equivalent to the total energy for a massless particle, the graph of kinetic energy versus momentum will be a straight line passing through the origin with slope c.
To graph the kinetic energy versus momentum for a particle with nonzero mass, plot K on the y-axis and p on the x-axis. The graph will be a parabola opening upwards, as K = \(\frac{p^2}{2m}\) is a quadratic equation in p.
To graph the kinetic energy versus momentum for a particle with zero mass, plot K on the y-axis and p on the x-axis. The graph will be a straight line with a slope equal to the speed of light c, as K = pc.
Compare the two graphs. For a particle with nonzero mass, the kinetic energy increases quadratically with momentum, while for a massless particle, the kinetic energy increases linearly with momentum.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Kinetic Energy

Kinetic energy is the energy that an object possesses due to its motion, calculated using the formula KE = 1/2 mv², where m is mass and v is velocity. For particles with nonzero mass, kinetic energy increases with the square of velocity, illustrating how faster-moving objects have significantly more energy.
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Momentum

Momentum is a vector quantity defined as the product of an object's mass and its velocity, expressed as p = mv. It is a crucial concept in physics because it is conserved in isolated systems, meaning the total momentum before and after an event remains constant, which is essential for analyzing collisions and interactions.
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Massless Particles

Massless particles, such as photons, travel at the speed of light and do not have rest mass. Their momentum is defined differently, as p = E/c, where E is energy and c is the speed of light. This distinction leads to unique relationships between kinetic energy and momentum for massless particles, differing significantly from those of massive particles.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question

A certain galaxy has a Doppler shift given by ƒ₀ - ƒ = 0.1015 ƒ₀. Estimate how fast it is moving away from us.

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Textbook Question

Suppose a spacecraft of mass 17,000 kg was accelerated to 0.22c.

(a) How much kinetic energy would it have?

(b) If you used the classical formula for kinetic energy, by what percentage would you be in error?

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Textbook Question

(III) If a particle moves in the xy plane of system S (Fig. 36–12) with speed u in a direction that makes an angle θ with the x axis, show that it makes an angle θ' in S' given by tanθ=(sinθ)1v2/c2/(cosθv/u)\(\tan\]\theta\)^{\(\prime\)}=(\(\sin\[\theta\))\(\sqrt{1-v^2/c^2}\)/(\(\cos\]\theta\)-v/u).

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Textbook Question

(III) (a) In reference frame S, a particle has momentum p=pxi\(\overrightarrow{\mathbf{p}\)}=p_{x}\(\mathbf{i}\) along the positive x axis. Show that in frame S’, which moves with speed v as in Fig. 36–12, the momentum has components

px=pxvE/c21v2/c2p_{x}^{\(\prime\)}=\(\frac{px-vE/c^2}{\sqrt{1-v^2/c^2}\)}

py=pyp_{y}^{\(\prime\)}=py

pz=pzp_{z}^{\(\prime\)}=pz

E=Epxv1v2/c2.E^{\(\prime\)}=\(\frac{E-p_{x}\)v}{\(\sqrt{1-v^2/c^2}\)}.

(These transformation equations hold, actually, for any direction of p\(\overrightarrow{\mathbf{p}\)}, as long as the motion of S' is along the x axis.) (b) Show that px, py, pz, E/c transform according to the Lorentz transformation in the same way as x, y, z, ct.

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Textbook Question

In the old West, a marshal riding on a train traveling 35.0 m/s sees a duel between two men standing on the Earth 55.0 m apart parallel to the train. The marshal’s instruments indicate that in his reference frame the two men fired simultaneously.

(a) Which of the two men, the first one the train passes (A) or the second one (B) should be arrested for firing the first shot? That is, in the gunfighter’s frame of reference, who fired first?

(b) How much earlier did he fire?

(c) Who was struck first?

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Textbook Question

Show that the kinetic energy K of a particle of mass m is related to its momentum p by the equation p=K2+2Kmc2cp=\(\frac{\sqrt{K^2+2Kmc^2}\)}{c}.

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