Effect of time dilation on temperature

[docnet]

Thank you in advance for your replies.

While reading about special relativity I started thinking about how time dilation might affect temperature.

Since temperature is really the jiggling motion of molecules, does time dilation affect temperature by slowing down the jiggling motion? Or, does temperature not depend on the frequency of the jiggling but the magnitude of the jiggling, which is not affected by time and thus time dilation has no effect on temperature?

since things traveling at the speed of light are "frozen in time" due to time dilation, do photons theoretically have a temperature of 0 kelvin?

 

[phinds]

1) Time dilation is an observational effect and has no effect locally. That is, you, right now as you read this, are traveling at 99.999% of the speed of light (relative to a particle in the CERN accelerator). You are also traveling at 12% of the speed of light (relative to a very fast moving object, relative to Earth, in space), and you are traveling at .0000003% of the speed of light (relative to an object moving on Earth). You are also traveling at 0% of the speed of light relative to the chair you are sitting in. Each of these other objects sees you as time dilated to differing degrees. Do you feel hotter?

2) Nothing with mass travels at c

3) Time does NOT "stand still" for light waves, in fact time is not even defined for light waves nor can it be.

 

[docnet]

Thank you for the reply. I am grateful for the information.

 

[PeroK]

Thank you in advance for your replies.

While reading about special relativity I started thinking about how time dilation might affect temperature.

Since temperature is really the jiggling motion of molecules, does time dilation affect temperature by slowing down the jiggling motion? Or, does temperature not depend on the frequency of the jiggling but the magnitude of the jiggling, which is not affected by time and thus time dilation has no effect on temperature?

since things traveling at the speed of light are "frozen in time" due to time dilation, do photons theoretically have a temperature of 0 kelvin?

This question has been asked before and there's no real consensus on what is the best definition of the temperature of a body moving at relativistic speed. See here, for a discussion of the issues:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-17526-4

The idea that photons are "frozen in time" is not a helpful one. Photons interact with matter; and radiation generally exhibits a spectrum of energies. The temperature of the CMBR (Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation) - note that microwaves are photons - can be defined. It's currently about 2.75 K. See here, for example:

http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~wright/CMB-DT.html

 

[Dale]

While reading about special relativity I started thinking about how time dilation might affect temperature.

This is an open question. Basically, there is not yet* consensus on how best to define the temperature of a relativistically moving object, even one in thermodynamic equilibrium with its surroundings. Many different suggestions have been made, and each with strong arguments and well-respected proponents.

At this point it seems like it isn’t even a question of correct or incorrect but a question of more or less useful.

*At least I am not aware of a consensus resolution