A One-Map Two-Clock Approach to Teaching Relativity in Introductory Physics

A one-map two-clock approach to teaching relativity in introductory physics P. Fraundorf Department of Physics & Astronomy University of Missouri-StL, St. Louis MO 63121 (December 22, 1996) observation that relativistic objects behave at high speed This paper presents some ideas which might assist teachers as though their inertial mass increases in the −→p = m−→v incorporating special relativity into an introductory physics expression, led to the definition (used in many early curriculum. One can define the proper-time/velocity pair, as 1 0 well as the coordinate-time/velocity pair, of a traveler using textbooks ) of relativistic mass m ≡ mγ. Such ef- only distances measured with respect to a single “map” frame. forts are worthwhile because they can: (A) potentially When this is done, the relativistic equations for momentum, allow the introduction of relativity concepts at an earlier energy, constant acceleration, and force take on forms strik- stage in the education process by building upon already- ingly similar to their Newtonian counterparts. Thus high- mastered classical relationships, and (B) find what is school and college students not ready for Lorentz transforms fundamentally true in both classical and relativistic ap- may solve relativistic versions of any single-frame Newtonian proaches. The concepts of transverse (m0) and longi- problems they have mastered. We further show that multi- tudinal (m00 ≡ mγ3) masses have similarly been used2 frame calculations (like the velocity-addition rule) acquire to preserve relations of the form Fx = max for forces simplicity and/or utility not found using coordinate velocity perpendicular and parallel, respectively, to the velocity alone. From physics-9611011 (xxx.lanl, NM, 1996). direction. Unfortunately for these relativistic masses, no deeper 03.30.+p, 01.40.Gm, 01.55.+b sense has emerged in which the mass of a traveling object either changes, or has directional dependence. Such masses allow familiar relationships to be used in keeping track of non-classical behaviors (item A above), but do I. INTRODUCTION not (item B above) provide frame-invariant insights or make other relationships simpler as well. Hence majority Since the 1920’s, it has been known that classical New- acceptance of their use seems further away now3 than it tonian laws depart from a description of reality, as veloc- did several decades ago4. ity approaches the speed of light. This divergence be- A more subtle trend in the literature has been to- tween Newtonian and relativistic physics was one of the ward the definition of a quantity called proper velocity5,6, most remarkable discoveries of this century. Yet, more which can be written as −→w ≡ γ−→v . Weusethesym- than 70 years later, most American high schools and col- bol w here because it is not in common use elsewhere leges teach introductory students Newtonian dynamics, in relativity texts, and because w resembles γv from a but then fail to teach students how to solve those same distance. This quantity also allows the momentum ex- problems relativistically. When relativity is discussed at pression above to be written in classical form as a mass all, it often entails only a rather abstract introduction to times a velocity, i.e. as −→p = m−→w . Hence it serves one Lorentz transforms, relegated to the back of a chapter of the “type A” goals served by m0 above. However, it (or the back of a book). remains an interesting but “homeless” quantity in the This is in part due to the facts that: (i) Newton’s laws present literature. In other words, proper-velocity dif- work so well in routine application, and (ii) introductions fers fundamentally from the familiar coordinate-velocity, to special relativity (often patterned after Einstein’s in- and unlike the latter has not in textbooks been linked troductions to the subject) focus on discovery-philosophy to a particular reference frame. After all, it uses dis- rather than applications. Caution, and inertia associated tance measured in an inertial frame but time measured with old habits, may play a role as well. It is nonetheless on the clocks of a moving and possibly accelerated ob- unfortunate because teaching Newtonian solutions with- server. However, there is also something deeply physical out relativistic ones at best leaves the student’s educa- about proper-velocity. Unlike coordinate-velocity, it is a tion out-of-date, and deprives them of experiences which synchrony-free7,8 (i.e. local-clock only) means of quan- might spark an interest in further physics education. At tifying motion. Moreover, A. Ungar has recently made worst, partial treatments may replace what is missing the case9 that proper velocities, and not coordinate ve- with misconceptions about the complexity, irrelevance, locities, make up the gyrogroup analog to the velocity and/or the limitations of relativity in the study, for ex- group in classical physics. If so, then, is it possible that ample, of simple things like uniform acceleration. introductory students might gain deeper physical insight Efforts to link relativistic concepts to classical ones via its use? have been with us from the beginning. For example, the 1 The answer is yes. We show here that proper-velocity, own clock on the map of their common “home” frame of when introduced as part of a “one-map two-clock” set of reference10. One might call the members of this family time/velocity variables, allows us to introduce relativistic “non-coordinate velocities”, to distinguish them from the momentum, time-dilation, and frame-invariant relativis- coordinate-velocity measured by an inertial observer who tic acceleration/force into the classroom without invok- stays put in the frame of the map. The cardinal rule for ing discussion of multiple inertial frames or the abstract all such velocities is: everyone measures displacements mathematics of Lorentz transformation (item A above). from the vantage point of the home frame (e.g. on a copy Moreover, through use of proper-velocity many relation- of a reference-frame map in their own vehicle’s glove com- ships (including those like velocity-addition, which re- partment). Thus proper velocity −→w is that particular quire multiple frames or more than one “map”) are made non-coordinate velocity which reports the rate at which simpler and sometimes more useful. When one simplifica- a given traveler’s position on the reference map changes, tion brings with it many others, this suggests that “item per unit time on the clock of the traveler. B” insights may be involved as well. The three sections to follow deal with the basic, acceleration-related, and multi-map applications of this “two-clock” approach by A. Developing the basic equations first developing the equations, and then discussing classroom applications. A number of useful relationships for the above “traveler’s speed of map-time” γ, including it’s familiar re- lationship to coordinate-velocity, follow simply from the II. A TRAVELER, ONE MAP, AND TWO nature of the flat spacetime metric. Their derivation is CLOCKS outlined in Appendix A. For students not ready for four- vectors, however, one can simply quote Einstein’s pre- One may argue that a fundamental break between clas- diction that spacetime is tied together so that instead of sical and relativistic kinematics involves the observation γ = 1, one has γ =1/ 1−(v/c)2 = E/mc2,whereEis that time passes differently for moving observers, than Einstein’s “relativistic energy” and c is the speed of light. it does for stationary ones. In typical texts, discus- By solving eqn. 1 for pw(v), and putting the inverted so- sion of this fact involves discussion of separate traveler lution v(w) into the expression for γ above, the following and map (e.g. primed and unprimed) inertial reference string of useful relationships follow immediately: frames, perhaps including Lorentz transforms between them, even though the traveler may be accelerated and dt γ ≡ changing reference frames constantly! This is not needed. dto Instead, we define two time variables when describing the 1 w 2 E K motion of a single object (or “traveler”) with respect to a = = 1+ = =1+ .(2) 2 c mc2 mc2 single inertial coordinate frame (or “map”). These time v r 1 − c variables are the “map” or coordinate-time t,andthe q “traveler” or proper-time τ. However, only one measure- Here of course K is the kinetic energy of motion, equal 1 2 ment of distances will be considered, namely that associ- classically to 2 mv . ated with the inertial reference frame or “map”. Because equation 2 allows one to relate velocities to It follows from above that two velocities will arise as energy, an important part of relativistic dynamics is in well, namely the coordinate-velocity −→v ≡ d−→x/dt,and hand as well. Another important part of relativistic dy- proper-velocity −→w ≡ d−→x/dτ. The first velocity mea- namics, mentioned in the introduction, takes on familiar sures map-distance traveled per unit map time, while the form since momentum at any speed is latter measures map-distance traveled per unit traveler −→ −→ −→ time. Each of these velocities can be calculated from the p = m w = mγ v .(3) other by knowing the velocity-dependence of the “trav- This relation has important scientific consequences as eler’s speed of map-time” γ ≡ dt/dτ, since it is easy to well. It shows that momentum like proper velocity has see from the definitions above that: no upper limit, and that coordinate velocity becomes ir- −→w = γ−→v .(1)relevant to tracking momentum at high speeds (since for w c, v ' c and hence p ∝ γ). All of the equations in Because all displacements dx aredefinedwithre- this section are summarized for reference and comparison spect to our map frame, proper-velocity is not simply in Table I.

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