Derive 4-Velocity Components: Anyone Know How?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the derivation of the components of 4-velocity in the context of special relativity (SR). Participants explore the mathematical formulation and seek resources for understanding the concepts involved.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant asks how to derive the expressions for the time component and spatial components of 4-velocity.
  • Several participants inquire about the textbooks or learning materials consulted by the original poster, suggesting that foundational knowledge in SR is necessary for the derivation.
  • Another participant emphasizes the importance of using didactic materials rather than informal sources like Wikipedia for learning SR concepts.
  • One participant offers a step-by-step outline for deriving the first component of 4-velocity, mentioning the definition of timelike intervals and the use of limits and derivatives.
  • A link to a FAQ document on special relativity is shared as a potential resource for further understanding.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the necessity of consulting proper educational materials for learning special relativity, but there is no consensus on specific resources or methods for deriving the 4-velocity components.

Contextual Notes

Some assumptions about prior knowledge in special relativity and the definitions of key terms may not be explicitly stated, which could affect the clarity of the discussion for newcomers.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in special relativity, particularly those seeking to understand the mathematical foundations of 4-velocity and looking for educational resources.

berlinspeed
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TL;DR
Need help on a simple 4-velocity components derivation.
Anyone know how to derive ##u^0=\frac {dt} {d\tau}=\frac {1} {\sqrt {1-\mathbf {v}^2}}## and ##u^j=\frac {dx^j} {d\tau}=\frac {v^j} {\sqrt {1-\mathbf{v}^2}}##?
 
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What textbooks have you consulted? This should be described in any introductory text on SR.
 
Orodruin said:
What textbooks have you consulted? This should be described in any introductory text on SR.
I don't own any SR books, which ones would you recommend?
 
By textbook I do not necessarily mean a physical textbook, it can just as well be some form of online lecture notes or at least some sort of learning material. You must be getting the information from somewhere. That somewhere should preferably be a didactic material intended to teach SR. If you do not have some sort of learning material and just look things up on, e.g., Wikipedia, that is typically not a useful or effective learning strategy. There is lots of useful information available online, but if you do not find anything else you can try my lecture notes.
 
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Orodruin said:
By textbook I do not necessarily mean a physical textbook, it can just as well be some form of online lecture notes or at least some sort of learning material. You must be getting the information from somewhere. That somewhere should preferably be a didactic material intended to teach SR. If you do not have some sort of learning material and just look things up on, e.g., Wikipedia, that is typically not a useful or effective learning strategy. There is lots of useful information available online, but if you do not find anything else you can try my lecture notes.
Thanks so much! Gonna grind on that for a while now..
 
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I’ll give you an outline of steps you can follow.

Write the definition of timelike interval, or proper time between events in inertial frame.

Divide by delta t.

Take the limit as delta t goes to zero.

Use the rule for derivative of inverse.

That takes care of the first question. For the second, see how to use the chain rule plus this fact.
 
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