Lecture

Relativistic Kinematics

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Description

This lecture covers the principles of relativistic kinematics, focusing on the transformation of coordinates independent of the choice of origin, the homogeneity of time and space, the Lorentz transformation, and the invariance of the space-time interval. It also discusses the speed of light, the law of speed composition, and the definition of space-time interval in the context of mechanics.

In MOOC

Mechanics: Change of Reference Frame and Relativity

This module begins by explaining how to apply Newton's mechanics when the frame of reference is accelerated. Translations and rotations are considered in Lesson 15, in which context the famous "Coriolis force" comes to the fore. The Earth is a natural reference frame for us earthbound observers. However, there are experiments such as the Foucault pendulum, in which the Earth's rotation has a clear effect on the dynamics observed locally on the Earth's surface. Other less sensitive experiments, measured with

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Physics

Relativity: Special relativity

Related concepts (29)

Lorentz transformation

In physics, the Lorentz transformations are a six-parameter family of linear transformations from a coordinate frame in spacetime to another frame that moves at a constant velocity relative to the former. The respective inverse transformation is then parameterized by the negative of this velocity. The transformations are named after the Dutch physicist Hendrik Lorentz.

Minkowski space

In mathematical physics, Minkowski space (or Minkowski spacetime) (mɪŋˈkɔːfski,_-ˈkɒf-) combines inertial space and time manifolds (x,y) with a non-inertial reference frame of space and time (x',t') into a four-dimensional model relating a position (inertial frame of reference) to the field (physics). A four-vector (x,y,z,t) consists of a coordinate axes such as a Euclidean space plus time. This may be used with the non-inertial frame to illustrate specifics of motion, but should not be confused with the spacetime model generally.

Spacetime

In physics, spacetime is any mathematical model that fuses the three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional continuum. Spacetime diagrams are useful in visualizing and understanding relativistic effects such as how different observers perceive where and when events occur. Until the turn of the 20th century, the assumption had been that the three-dimensional geometry of the universe (its description in terms of locations, shapes, distances, and directions) was distinct from time (the measurement of when events occur within the universe).

History of Lorentz transformations

The history of Lorentz transformations comprises the development of linear transformations forming the Lorentz group or Poincaré group preserving the Lorentz interval and the Minkowski inner product . In mathematics, transformations equivalent to what was later known as Lorentz transformations in various dimensions were discussed in the 19th century in relation to the theory of quadratic forms, hyperbolic geometry, Möbius geometry, and sphere geometry, which is connected to the fact that the group of motions in hyperbolic space, the Möbius group or projective special linear group, and the Laguerre group are isomorphic to the Lorentz group.

Lorentz factor

The Lorentz factor or Lorentz term is a quantity expressing how much the measurements of time, length, and other physical properties change for an object while that object is moving. The expression appears in several equations in special relativity, and it arises in derivations of the Lorentz transformations. The name originates from its earlier appearance in Lorentzian electrodynamics – named after the Dutch physicist Hendrik Lorentz. It is generally denoted γ (the Greek lowercase letter gamma).

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