Inertial Frames

INERTIAL FRAMES are frames of reference which are moving

with a constant velocity.
Question: Constant velocity relative to what?
Answer: Relative to any frame in which Newtons 1
st
law holds.
Newtons 1
st
Law states bodies in uniform motion remain in uniform motion
unless they are acted upon by an external force.
Hence accelerating frames
are not inertial.
Classical (Galilean) Relativity
S
S
Reference frame S is moving with velocity v in the direction of the x-axis of S.
If observers in S and S synchronise their clocks when their origins coincide,
then an event with space-time co-ordinates (x,y,z,t) in S is seen in S to have
co-ordinates:
x = x vt
y = y
z = z
t = t
In the classical, Galileo/Newton, view, time is universal and time intervals are the
same for all observers.
Galilean Transformations
Example
1. Airplane is travelling at a speed of
240 km/h relative to the air.
2. Air is travelling at a speed of
100 km/h relative to the ground.
Question:
What is the velocity of the airplane
relative to the ground?
We shall find it useful to draw pictures like
the one on the left. The black reference frame
is at rest relative to the ground whilst the
red reference frame is at rest relative to the
air. The picture indicates the relative motion of
the two frames and the motion of the airplane
in the red frame.
Observers
Observers are people (real or fictitious) who record events in
space and time. We do not need to specify the location of an
observer but we do need to specify the inertial frame in which
the clocks and rulers which they use to make measurements
are at rest.
Red clocks at rest relative to red
inertial frame.
Black clocks at rest relative to black
inertial frame.
Time of event A is measured in the
red frame by the red clock closest to
the event and similarly in the black
frame.
An observer can record the time of an
event by simply reading off the time on
the appropriate clock.
Einsteins Postulates
1. The laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames
(often called the Principle of Relativity)
2. The speed of light in a vacuum is a constant
independent of the motion of either the source or
the observer.
Time dilation
Red clock runs slow according
to an observer in S.
Black clock runs slow according
to an observer in S.
The gamma factor
2 2 2
1
1
/ 1
1
|

=
c v
c v / = |

Note that is always

larger than one, and tends to
infinity as v approaches c
Example done in lectures:
Muons (elementary particles like electrons but 207 times heavier) are
created in cosmic ray air showers. On Earth they have a lifetime of 2.2
microseconds.
1. According to classical theory, how far could muons travelling at the speed
of light travel before they decay?
2. This distance is much less than the depth of atmosphere so we would not
expect any muons to reach the Earths surface. But many muons DO reach
the Earths surface.
3. Using Einsteins theory, how fast must the muons travel in order to reach
the surface of Earth before they decay? (Assume that the muons are created
at an altitude of 20 km.)
Doppler Effect
Light source
Length (Lorentz) contraction
Red ruler is shrunk according
to an observer in S.
Black ruler is shrunk according
to an observer in S.
Lorentz Transformations
These equations tell us how to relate
the co-ordinates of an event in one
inertial frame given the corresponding
co-ordinates in a second inertial frame.
How to use the Lorentz transformations
Key step is to understand
which of the below equations
is needed in any given
problem.
Addition of velocities
Remember to change the sign of u if S would be moving in the opposite direction.
2
'
'
1
c
vV
v V
V
x
x
x
+
+
=
|
.
|

\
|
+
=
2
'
'
1
c
vV
V
V
x
y
y

v
Relativistic momentum and energy
The velocity addition formulae in relativity are not consistent with the classical
law of conservation of momentum. We can maintain conservation of momentum
with a new definition of momentum:
v m
c v
v m
p

=
) / 1 (
2 2
This works as long as we have another conservation law:

=
after before
m m
Relativistic energy
We can introduce the constant c
2
so that the conserved quantity has the
dimensions of energy:

=
after before
mc mc
2 2

We now define the total energy of a particle or system as
2
mc E =
The kinetic energy is the difference between total energy and rest (=1) energy
2 2 2
) 1 ( mc mc mc K = =
Total energy in non-relativistic
approximation
We note that
2 2 2
2
2
2 2 / 1
2
2
2
2
1
)
2
1 (
) 1 (
mv mc mc
c
v
mc
c
v
mc E
+ = + ~
= =

So, for a non-relativistic system, the conservation of E is equivalent to the two

separate conservations laws of mass and kinetic energy. In relativity, the total
energy of a particle is the sum of an energy due to its mass and its kinetic
energy, and it is the total of these that is conserved i.e. Energy can be converted
into mass and vice versa.
We derived two useful relations:
Q. When do we NOT need to use relativity?
A. Either when speeds are much smaller than c or when the kinetic energy is
negligibly small compared to the rest mass energy.
Massless particles are allowed in relativity provided
Quantum Physics
Around the same time that relativity was usurping classical physics, quantum
physics was being born. By 1900, evidence that classical physics was in
trouble was well established. The troublesome phenomena were:
The distribution of radiation as a function of wavelength from black bodies.
(Kirchoff 1860, Wien 1893) classical theory fails
Photoelectric effect (Hertz 1887, Lenard 1902) classical theory fails
Spectral lines (Kirchoff & Bunsen 1860) no explanation
X-rays (Rntgen 1895) and radioactivity (Becquerel 1896, M.& P. Curie 1898) no explanation
The periodic table (Mendeleyev 1869) no explanation
The key ideas which helped to solve these mysteries are*:
Light sometimes behaves as particles (Planck 1900, Einstein 1905)
Electrons orbit nuclei in discrete energy levels (Rutherford 1911, Bohr 1913)
* Although the periodic table needs the Exclusion Principle and radioactivity requires the introduction of new
forces in Nature. These ideas came into being c.1930 with the advent of Quantum Mechanics.
Measurements of black body radiation indicate a serious problem with the
classical theory of light: Ultra-violet catastrophe and Plancks formula.
Photoelectric effect
Light incident on a metallic surface causes the emission of electrons.
. hf
| = hf K
max
| = hf eV
0
. f
Key formulae relating the energy, wavelength and frequency of a photon:
Notice that the last two of these imply that
Bohrs postulates allow us to try and explain the otherwise mysterious origin
of spectral lines (i.e. that atoms emit radiation only at certain characteristic
frequencies).
1. Electrons orbit a central nucleus of charge +Ze in circles under the
influence of the Coulomb interaction.
2. The electrons can only be in orbits whose angular momentum is
quantized, i.e. is equal to an integer multiple of h/(2).
3. Atoms do not emit or absorb radiation except when an electron moves
discretely from one orbit to another.
Bohr model of the atom predicts, for single electron atoms:
The above formula assumes that the nucleus is infinitely massive. To account
for the finite mass of the nucleus:
Note: this mass correction means that
we can use Bohrs model for some
quite exotic systems in which two
particles of similar mass orbit their
common centre of mass, e.g.
positronium which is a bound state of
an electron and a positron.
Many-electron atoms
Many electron atoms: Bohr model is not really very
good but we can still think in terms of electron shells.
Each shell can hold a certain number of electrons as a
result of the Pauli Exclusion Principle,
e.g. n=1 shell holds 2 electrons
n=2 shell holds 8 electrons
n=3 shell holds 18 electrons
n=4 shell holds 32 electrons etc
X-rays: can be emitted when an inner
shell electron is ejected and an electron
from an outer shell falls down to
replace it.
K-series X-rays arise as a result of
ejecting an n=1 electron.
L-series X-rays arise as a result of
ejecting an n=2 electron.
Sodium (Na):
11 electrons
Production of X-rays
X-rays
Moseleys Law
Applying ideas from the Bohr model for the
electron transition from n = 2 level (L-shell) to
fill a hole in the n=1 level (K-shell) in a many-
electron atom
Matter waves
de Broglie postulated (1924), in analogy with light, that
Particles can behave like waves
Gave rise to the birth of wave mechanics
It is in general a complex number and
The mean position of the particle (average over many measurements
of the position) is then just
i.e.
Particle must be somewhere
Particle in a Box
For a particle of momentum confined to the region 0<x<L, within an
infinite potential well, the wavefunction and is given by
The wavefunction can be normalised to give
) sin(
2
L
x n
L
n
t
=
What is a wavefunction?
The laws of classical mechanics are deterministic. If we know the position
and momentum of a particle at a given time, and we know all of the forces
acting on it, then Newtons Laws allow us to predict precisely the position
and momentum at a future time.
In Quantum Mechanics we have no such certainty. The equations of
motion (Schroedingers Equation) describes how the wavefunction
changes with time for a particle subject to forces. But the wavefunction,
which is generally complex, carries information only about probabilities for
quantities such as the position and momentum of the particle. This is the
best we can do. There is no longer any certainty about the future values
for position and momentum. QM is non-deterministic. It seems that God
does play dice.
Particle in a Box
For a particle of momentum p and mass m confined to the region 0<x<L, the
quantized energy levels are given by
The uncertainties on position and momentum are consistent with
Heisenbergs Uncertainty Principle:
t 2
h
p x > A A
Note that this represents intrinsic uncertainty in nature at the quantum level
and has nothing to do with the precision of any measuring apparatus
The uncertainties in energy and time are also related by
Heisenbergs Uncertainty Principle:
t 2
h
t E > A A
Now t is interpreted as the lifetime of an unstable state or particle, giving
rise to the natural width E of a spectral line or of an elementary particle
such as the Z boson.
Quantum Mechanical tunnelling:
In QM a particle confined within a finite potential well can tunnel out of the well.
This can be seen as borrowing energy to get over the barrier, consistent with
the Uncertainty Principle, or in terms of the wavefunction extending beyond the
potential barrier, giving rise to a finite probability to find the particle outside the
well.
Alpha-decay of a radioactive nucleus is an example of QM tunnelling. In principle
an alpha particle has insufficient energy to overcome the strong nuclear
attraction, but it can tunnel to a region where the repulsive Coulomb force is
stronger than the attractive nuclear force, and the nucleus decays.
Thanks to all who put money in the hat
And thanks to all who signed the
Christmas cards for me, and added
such nice messages.
A Merry Xmas to everyone.
George