What is Relativistic: Definition and 1000 Discussions

Relativistic quantum chemistry combines relativistic mechanics with quantum chemistry to calculate elemental properties and structure, especially for the heavier elements of the periodic table. A prominent example is the explanation of the color of gold: due to relativistic effects, it is not silvery like most other metals.The term relativistic effects was developed in light of the history of quantum mechanics. Initially quantum mechanics was developed without considering the theory of relativity. Relativistic effects are those discrepancies between values calculated by models that consider relativity and those that do not. Relativistic effects are important for the heavier elements with high atomic numbers. In the most common layout of the periodic table, these elements are shown in the lower area. Examples are the lanthanides and actinides.Relativistic effects in chemistry can be considered to be perturbations, or small corrections, to the non-relativistic theory of chemistry, which is developed from the solutions of the Schrödinger equation. These corrections affect the electrons differently depending on the electron speed compared to the speed of light. Relativistic effects are more prominent in heavy elements because only in these elements do electrons attain sufficient speeds for the elements to have properties that differ from what non-relativistic chemistry predicts.

View More On Wikipedia.org
Recent contents Top users
  1. neilparker62

    I How does the motion of colliding billiard balls change under Special Relativity?

    Assuming equal mass billiard balls and elastic collisions, classical physics shows that after any collision the motion of the colliding balls will be orthogonal. How does that situation change under SR ? More generally for an elastic collision between objects m and M with m<M, is maximum angle...
  2. W

    B Relativistic Kinetic Energy: Does Mass Change?

    Hello, According to Special Relativity, the mass of an object must increase as its speed approaches the speed of light. m=m0γ In the formula that allows us to calculate the kinetic energy of a body, KE=0.5mv2, should we take into consideration such increase in mass? Weam Abou Hamdan Wednesday...
  3. S

    Relativistic Rocket Homework: Express T' in Terms of T, v, c

    Homework Statement A rocket moving with speed v passes a stationary observer. The observer waits a time T (according to his clock) after the rocket passes and send a pulse of light in the direction of the rocket. The rocket pilot notes that, according to her clocks, the time elapsed between the...
  4. omega_minus

    I Deriving Maxwell's Equations from Field Tensor (Griffith 4ed)

    Hello, I am reading Griffith's "Introduction to Electrodynamics" 4ed. I'm in the chapter on relativistic electrodynamics where he develops the electromagnetic field tensor (contravariant matrix form) and then shows how to extract Maxwell's equations by permuting the index μ. I am able to...
  5. B

    I Relativistic formula for motion with constant acceleration

    Suppose a comet F ,at 1 AU distance, is traveling toward a massive body (a neutron star or other) with v= .99 c, suppose also that a = 3 km/s^2 and (to simplify calcs) that it is uniform from there to the star. It will hit the star after ca. 1000 seconds and its speed should equal C: 297*10^9...
  6. caitphys

    Muon production and decay from relativistic annihilation

    Homework Statement An antiproton of energy 35 ##GeV## from a source outside the solar system interacts with a proton in the upper atmosphere traveling on a trajectory which is radial with respect to the centre of the Earth. The antiproton annihilates the proton with the final outcome that two...
  7. C

    Relativistic Distance/Time Problem

    Homework Statement A muon has a lifetime of 2.20 x10-6 s when at rest, after which time it decays into other particles. a) Ignore any effects of relativity discussed in this section. If the muon was moving at 0.99c, how far would it travel before decaying into other particles, according to...
  8. SamRoss

    B Relativistic Energy: Change of Consts. of Integration

    In this super short video of the derivation of the relativistic kinetic energy, , I'm just stuck on one thing. Around 1:00 minute in, the constants of integration change from 0 to pv when the integration changes from dx to dv. Where does the pv come from? Thanks!
  9. R

    Max angle of deflection in a relativistic elastic collision

    Homework Statement Homework Equations Conservation of linear momentum Conservation of energy Energy-momentum relationship: ##E^2-(m_0c^2)^2=c^2p^2## Lorentz transformation of energy: ##p=\gamma(v)(p'+vE'/c^2)## ##\mathbf{p}=\gamma(v)m_0v##, ##E=\gamma(v)m_0c^2## The Attempt at a Solution My...
  10. F

    Why relativistic momentum equals the following?

    In a solution to a problem we were given, it is written that a positron momentum with energy of 2mc2 (where γ=2) is √(γ2-1)*mc = √(4-1)*mc = √3*mc How did they get that P=√(γ2-1)*mc?
  11. C

    I De Broglie relation using four momentum in particle physics

    In particle phyisics four-momentum is used and De Broglie relation is used to understand what lenghts can be "seen" in an experiment. Here (page 6) https://people.phys.ethz.ch/~pheno/PPP/PPP2.pdf it is claimed Where ##Q^2## is not actually "momentum" but its the square of the four momentum...
  12. I

    I Will a spring extend more when going at relativistic speeds?

    Suppose Superman and Green Lantern are on an airless planet. Green Lantern whips up a spring and puts a mass on the end, and the spring extends some amount due to the gravitational pull on the mass. Superman then goes off with the spring and mass, and gets up to 0.9c and flies past Green...
  13. C

    Relativistic Distance/Time Problem

    Homework Statement A muon has a lifetime of 2.20 x10-6 s when at rest, after which time it decays into other particles. a) Ignore any effects of relativity discussed in this section. If the muon was moving at 0.99c, how far would it travel before decaying into other particles, according...
  14. It's me

    Dirac hydrogen atom vs spin symmetry

    Homework Statement Exact spin symmetry in the Dirac equation occurs when there is both a scalar and a vector potential, and they are equal to each other. What physical effect is absent in this case, that does exist in the Dirac solution for the hydrogen atom (vector potential = Coulomb and...
  15. D

    I Relativistic Velocity Transformation: Diff. Operator Explained

    I'm reading modern physics, Tipler 5th edition, pages 21 and 22, and I'm not understanding how the differentiation was done from the position to find the velocity. Equation for position: x'= y(x - vt) y is the gamma constant. Then in the first step to find the velocity, a derivative was done...
  16. C

    Relativistic mass/length contraction problem

    Homework Statement The proper length of spaceship A is 60.0m and the proper length of spaceship B is 120.0m. The proper mass of spaceship A is 15000 kg. An observer on Earth watches the two spaceships fly past at a constant speed and determines that they have the same length. If the speed of...
  17. C

    Kinematics: A Complete Picture of Motion Without Causes

    So, if kinematics is the study of motion without reference to its causes (which is how it seems to be defined in many places), then here is my attempt to come up with a complete picture of motion without reference to its causes. This is just a summary to help me organize my thoughts (it is NOT...
  18. T

    A Validity of Relativistic Hydrodynamic Equations

    For a relativistic fluid, the equation of state is given by: $$\rho = \rho_0 + 3p/c^2 $$ The above expression is nicely derived in Weinberg (1972). Although I was told that for a compressible fluid that is relativistically hot (i.e. ##p \gg \rho_0 c^2)## under a constant acceleration, ##g##...
  19. A. Neumaier

    I Relativistic hidden variable quantum mechanics?

    I just came across the following paper: Gisin, N. (2011). Impossibility of covariant deterministic nonlocal hidden-variable extensions of quantum theory. Physical Review A, 83(2), 020102. proving that, under sensible hypotheses, nonlocal hidden variable theories for relativistic quantum...
  20. M

    B Does Relativistic Mass Affect the Way We Weigh Things?

    Hi everyone. I have some questions related to relativistic mass: Does atoms and molecules are affected by this relativistic effects? and does relativistic mass affects the way we weigh things? What I mean is; (and based on my limited knowledge of Special and General Relativity ) atoms an...
  21. R

    I Relativistic addition question

    Observer A measures B moving east at .8c and measures C moving west at .8c . Then wouldn't the impact of the two will be a result of relative motion greater than c in frame A. I understand B and C frame will not see any object speed greater than c. So the impact in frame A and frame B will not...
  22. K

    Relativistic calculation of speed when the momentum is known

    Homework Statement We know the momentum of an electron, which is: 1,48*10^-21. Momentum is m*v (mass*speed) If we divide the momentum by the mass of the electron to find electron's speed, it'll give a value where v> 3*10^8 m/s. Since speed can't be above speed of light, we have to calculate...
  23. Hamza Abbasi

    Relativistic Velocity Addition

    Homework Statement Two spaceships pass each other. Spaceship A moves relative to nearby planet at velocity v1 , while spaceship B moves at velocity v2 relative to the planet . How fast does spaceship A moves relative to spaceship B. Homework Equations Velocity Transformation : v* =...
  24. F

    Relativistic Decay: Calculating Pion Momentum

    Homework Statement A Sigma^+ decays at rest into a neutron and a pion^+ meson, i.e. according to the reaction $$\Sigma \rightarrow n + \pi$$ The n and π masses are assumed known. The kinetic energy of the π + is measured to be 92 MeV. Determine the momentum of the pion. Homework Equations...
  25. mjda

    I The relativistic de Broglie equation

    I'm having trouble understanding how the 4-wave vector is derived, and also how it is then used alongside the 4-momentum vector to formulate the relativistic de Broglie equation. The inner product of the 4-momentum vector with itself, is an invariant quantity. If we define the 4-momentum...
  26. F

    I Relativistic speed of a rocket with constant thrust

    I try to calculate the speed curve of a relativistic rocket driven by a 100% efficient engine with constant thrust, when traveling to a distant star. All equations I can find consider constant acceleration, which of course is not working, since the ships mass decreases when the fuel is used...
  27. Jan Nebec

    I Can we deal with relativistic mass once and for all?

    Hello! I've been reading about relativistic mass for last few days and it leads me to even more confusion. Supposing, we are assuming SR. 1. Why some people say that relativistic mass leads to confusion? As far as I learned, relativistic mass tells me the mass of an object, that is moving...
  28. nearc

    I Modeling Simple N-body in Hypothetical Relativistic Dark Flow w/ Netlogo

    Looking for existing examples of or guidance on building computer simulations of simple N-bodies in relativist situations. Of particular interest is the simulation of a planet orbiting a star whilst that trivial solar system is caught in a dark flow of relativist velocity; maybe .8 or .9 C. Not...
  29. vanhees71

    A Usefulness of relativistic mass

    [Moderator's note: This thread was spun off from a previous thread in the Quantum Physics forum. It was moved here since this specific subject is more on topic in this forum.] I didn't say that somebody who uses the relativistic mass doesn't understand relativity. It's just an unneeded...
  30. M

    Understanding the Derivation of Relativistic Mass in Inelastic Collisions

    Hi guys, thanks for helping with this! I'm a little stuck with this question about the derivation for relativistic mass. 1. Homework Statement By considering the inelastic collision of two balls as perceived in different reference frames show that the relativistic mass is equal to the rest...
  31. daisey

    B Is Space Expanding in a Relativistic Way?

    Regarding the expansion of space... In one book I've read the diameter of the universe is more than 100B light years across, even though the age of the universe is only roughly 14B years old. This is due to accelerated expansion of space. In another book it says that space is expanding in a...
  32. B

    Time since hot big bang - relativistic species

    Homework Statement According to the standard assumptions, there are three species of (massless) neutrinos. In the temperature range of 1MeV < T < 100MeV, the density of the universe is believed to have been dominated by the black-body radiation of photons, electron-positron pairs, and three...
  33. K

    Scattering angle in relativistic kinematics

    Homework Statement Considering 2 scattering particles with momenta ##p_{1}, p_{2}##, where ##p_{2} = 0## in the Lab reference. The momenta of these 2 particles after elastic collision are ##p_{1}', p_{2}'##, respectively. Due to the 4-momentum relation, we have ##p_{1i}p_{1}^{'i} = e_{1}e_{1}'...
  34. P

    I Relativistic Energy Dispersion Relation: Explained

    I'm in the process of learning special relativity (SR), and I'm a bit confused as to why the relativistic energy dispersion relation ##E^{2}=m^{2}c^{4}+p^{2}c^{2}## gives the energy for a free particle? I get that it is the sum of (relativistic) kinetic energy plus the rest mass term (a...
  35. S

    I Weight of a relativistic particle

    If I were able to accelerate a particle to relativistic speeds, then capture that particle in a box in such a way that it kept its speed, then weighed that box, would it weigh more than the box + rest weight of the particle? Would it exert a gravitational field greater than that of the box with...
  36. T

    Mechanics II: Hamiltonian and Lagrangian of a relativistic free particle

    Homework Statement I am given the Hamiltonian of the relativistic free particle. H(q,p)=sqrt(p^2c^2+m^2c^4) Assume c=1 1: Find Ham-1 and Ham-2 for m=0 2: Show L(q,q(dot))=-msqrt(1-(q(dot))^2/c^2) 3: Consider m=0, what does it mean? Homework Equations Ham-1: q(dot)=dH/dp Ham-2: p(dot)=-dH/dq...
  37. S

    I Relativistic Effect on Object Accelerated to 10000-10000m/s^2

    I am observing the speed of an object whose acceleration is about 1000G to 10000G (10000-10000m/s^2), both with a laser sensor and a high speed camera in very short time But the results keep coming out in a way that the laser sensor sees the velocity about 10-20% faster than the high speed...
  38. G

    Relativistic Harmonic Oscillator Lagrangian and Four Force

    Homework Statement Consider an inertial laboratory frame S with coordinates (##\lambda##; ##x##). The Lagrangian for the relativistic harmonic oscillator in that frame is given by ##L =-mc\sqrt{\dot x^{\mu} \dot x_{\mu}} -\frac {1}{2} k(\Delta x)^2 \frac{\dot x^{0}}{c}## where ##x^0...
  39. S

    Help me find my error in a relativistic kinetic energy calculation

    Hi everyone. Given: an asteroid with the mass of 50,000,000 kg, which is moving with the velocity of oh-my-god particle -- 99.99999999999999999999951% of c. Due to relativistic effects, its total kinetic energy will be 1.44 E+36 Joules (Lorentz factor = 3.2 E+11). A hypothetical particle...
  40. S

    I Relativistic Calculus Books & PDFs | Free Resources

    Just wanted any books / pdfs which introduce special relativistic calculus.
  41. S

    I Relativistic Particles: Reaching Absolute Temperature?

    Hello fellow physicists.Recently I imagined a particle far away from everything (infinitely away) such that there is no potential energy affecting the particle. Ep = 0 Ek = mc2δ : δ = (1-v2/c2)-1/2 L = EP- Ek = -mc2δ ∂L/∂v = vE0/c2 *δ^3 where E0 = mc2 d( ∂L/∂x)/dt = 0 ∴ vE0/c2 *δ^3 = 0 mvδ3...
  42. blainiac

    Relativistic 3rd Law Question?

    This is not a homework question, but I read elsewhere that questions for self-study were required to be placed in this section. I had a question that pertains to the non-instantaneous transfer of information (limited at the speed of light, c) and how it would work in a thought-experiment...
  43. M

    I Relativistic particle in non-uniform magnetic field (math)

    Hi everyone, I am currently working on a project in Physics analyzing the possibility of magnetic fields protecting against radiation particles such as fully ionized nuclei or electrons. I wrote a code in Matlab that simulates a 3-D magnetic field based on a combination of wires and wire loops...
  44. I

    Finding the relativistic speed of a spacecraft

    Homework Statement If a spacecraft is traveling to a star which is located at a distance of 1 lightyear and it would take the spacecraft 1 year to reach the star in its own frame, how fast would the spacecraft actually fly? Also, how long would the journey take for an observer on Earth...
  45. Dale

    A Is There a Relativistic Version of Hooke's Law for Materials?

    After a few recent discussions I have realized that I don’t know anything about a relativistic theory of materials. Does anyone have a good link for a reference about Hooke’s law in relativity, or something similar. Homogeneous isotropic linear media is fine.
  46. T

    Deriving the relativistic rocket equation

    Homework Statement so i read morin's derivation of rocket equation propelled by photons now i want to try for relativistic mass ejection but i am having some problems let subscript e denote quantities of ejected material and subscript of r denote quantities of rocket Homework Equations ## P =...
  47. G

    I Relativistic harmonic oscillator

    I have some difficulties in viewing the literature on the topic. In textbooks on analytical mechnics the procedure given for Special relativistic motion is to write the kinetic term relativistically and attach the unchanged potential term. So, for a harmonic oscillator the Lagrangian is ##L =...
  48. binbagsss

    Grand canonical system, relativistic cts Hamiltonian

    Homework Statement Question attached: Hi, To me this looks like a classical, continuous system, as a pose to a quantum, discrete system, so I am confused as to how to work the system in the grand canonical ensemble since , in my notes it has only been introduced as a quantum...
  49. A

    B Relativistic Spring-Mass Oscillator: A Paradox?

    Consider a spring-mass oscillator on a train moving at relativistic speed. According to SR, to a stationary observer, both the mass and the period will appear to have increased by a factor of γ. But the period is supposed to be proportional to the square root of the mass. Something is wrong...
  50. J

    B Special Relativity & Relativistic Mass

    Hi, If a particle is within 2 m/s of the speed of light (like at CERN) and then more energy is transferred to the particle, where does this energy go? Some sources I have read talk about relativistic mass getting bigger and approaching infinity as a particle approaches 'c'. However, this source...
Back
Top