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MarekS
Jun7-09, 12:50 PM
1. The problem statement, all variables and given/known data
Wikipedia states that the Maclaurin Series expansion of the Lorentz factor is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorentz_factor

2. Relevant equations
Relevant equations are all found in that article

3. The attempt at a solution

I don't see how this comes about. My attempt: 1+0+1/2+...

How can beta be in the expansion, when it should be substituted by 0, since the Maclaurin Series is about 0?

dx
Jun7-09, 01:06 PM
The maclaurin series of a function about zero is f(x) = f(0) + f'(0)x + f''(0)x2/2! + ...

Cyosis
Jun7-09, 01:07 PM
The Maclaurin series about 0 is given by:

\gamma(\beta)=\gamma(0)+\beta \gamma'(0)+\frac{\beta^2}{2!}\gamma''(0)+...

Try it out.

MarekS
Jun7-09, 03:03 PM
Yes, thanks. I found my error: I didn't notice the factors (beta) in the terms.