Undergrad Are All Particle-Rest Inertial Frames the Same?

  • Thread starter Thread starter PFfan01
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Frames Inertial
Click For Summary
In special relativity, all inertial frames are equivalent for describing physical phenomena, but this does not mean that all particle-rest frames are identical. Each particle-rest frame can be considered a different inertial frame, as they may involve different spatial axes while sharing a common timelike axis. The discussion highlights that while the laws of physics and the speed of light remain consistent across inertial frames, the rest frames of different particles are not the same if they are in motion relative to each other. Thus, the concept of equivalence in inertial frames does not imply uniformity among all particle-rest frames. The nuances of spatial rotations and their implications on particle motion are key to understanding this distinction.
PFfan01
Messages
88
Reaction score
2
According to special relativity, all inertial frames of reference are equivalent for descriptions of physical phenomena. Suppose that there is a free particle in free space. Observed in any of the frames, the motion of particle can be described by a velocity, and by Lorentz boost, one can get a particle-rest frame where the particle is at rest. My question is: Are all the particle-rest frames the same?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
All inertial frames are the same in special relativity, by hypothesis. It's one of the postulates of relativity.
 
Sorry, I did not make it clear. What I mean is: Are all the particle-rest frame the same inertial frame? There are no space rotations (corresponding to space orthogonal transformation) between these particle-rest frames?
 
You are free to rotate axes, so if I understand your question, there are infinitely many frames in which the particle is at rest. They use different spatial axes but share a timelike axis.
 
PFfan01 said:
Sorry, I did not make it clear. What I mean is: Are all the particle-rest frame the same inertial frame? There are no space rotations (corresponding to space orthogonal transformation) between these particle-rest frames?

I suspect you might be misunderstanding "equivalent" in this context. Different inertial frames are not equivalent. The posulates of SR are 1) that the speed of light is the same in all inertial reference frames; and, 2) the laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames.

But, if two particles are moving with respect to each other then their rest frames cannot be the same.
 

Thread 'Am I understanding the concept of proper frame of reference?'

MOVING CLOCKS In this section, we show that clocks moving at high speeds run slowly. We construct a clock, called a light clock, using a stick of proper lenght ##L_0##, and two mirrors. The two mirrors face each other, and a pulse of light bounces back and forth betweem them. Each time the light pulse strikes one of the mirrors, say the lower mirror, the clock is said to tick. Between successive ticks the light pulse travels a distance ##2L_0## in the proper reference of frame of the clock...
View full post »

Similar threads

Undergrad Transformation Riemann tensor to an accelerating frame
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
1K
Undergrad Is an accelerating frame the same as an inertial frame at a point?
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
2K
High School A difficulty with the equivalence of all inertial reference frames
  • · Replies 28 ·
Replies
28
Views
3K
Undergrad Locally Inertial Frames: Freefall & Relative Velocities
  • · Replies 26 ·
Replies
26
Views
2K
Undergrad SR textbooks discussing accelerated reference frames without delving into GR
  • · Replies 36 ·
2
Replies
36
Views
5K
Graduate Does the EP imply that a free-falling observer follows a geodesic?
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
818
Undergrad About inertial reference frames and logical deduction
  • · Replies 26 ·
Replies
26
Views
3K
High School Question about “Inertia arises from interaction with the Universe’s mass”
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
1K
Undergrad Using position of free particle to measure time
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
2K
Undergrad Galilean relativity in terms of homogeneity
  • · Replies 51 ·
2
Replies
51
Views
4K