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Fusilli_Jerry89
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I've heard that when an object is accelerated at huge huge speeds they actually gain mass. Is there a formula to see how much mass an object would gain will going a certain velocity.
RandallB said:The problem you will continue to have with ones like this, is thinking of mass as actually changing with speed. That is a very old idea to think of the mass “as if it increases” with speed. Which works ok in a limited way, such as getting to E=mc^2. But modern science accepts the idea is incorrect in application and mass should be understood as intrinsic and unchanging with speed. Only momentum “p” or ‘mv’ is factored to increase with speed, and not mass.
The important concept to note here is that it is the momentum which increases, not the 'mass'. In my opinion, in special relativity only invariant mass should be considered and the whole notion of 'relativistic' mass should be abandoned in special relativity (the situation in general relativity is somewhat more complex). As Randall says above, the notion that mass increases is usually introduced when explaining the 'basics' of relativity in a general context, but leads to misunderstandings when it comes to formally learning relativity. Below are some links which you may wish to peruse;RandallB said:But for any real mass, while it remains the same at mo; as the speed increases it must create a momentum "mv" that if factored by relativistic "gamma" to a larger number than expected by classical thinking.
Thus momentum as v approaches c would approach infinity and creating it would require an impossible amount of energy to reach it.
Littlepig said:relativistic mass, is used in modern mecanics, and is too "named" as energy, by the E=mcc.
Regards, littlepig
Janus said:[itex]E = mc^2[/itex] gives the energy equivalence of the invarient mass.
The equation for calculating the increase in mass at high speeds is given by m = m0/√(1 - (v/c)2), where m is the mass at high speed, m0 is the rest mass, v is the speed of the object, and c is the speed of light.
An object gains mass at high speeds due to the effects of special relativity. As an object approaches the speed of light, its energy increases, which results in an increase in its mass. This is known as relativistic mass or kinetic mass.
No, the mass of an object does not continue to increase indefinitely as it approaches the speed of light. According to the equation m = m0/√(1 - (v/c)2), as the object's speed approaches the speed of light, the denominator becomes closer to 0, causing the mass to approach infinity. However, an object with mass cannot reach the speed of light, as it would require an infinite amount of energy.
The amount of mass an object gains at high speeds depends on the speed of the object relative to the speed of light. For example, an object traveling at 0.9 times the speed of light would have a mass that is approximately 2 times its rest mass.
No, the increase in mass at high speeds is only significant for objects that are traveling at a significant fraction of the speed of light, which is not typically observed in everyday situations. For everyday objects, the increase in mass due to their speeds is negligible and can be ignored.