Frame dependency of accelerations

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the concept of frame dependency of accelerations in the context of special relativity. Participants explore how acceleration is perceived differently depending on the observer's frame of reference, touching on topics such as proper acceleration, coordinate acceleration, and the implications of relativistic effects.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants propose that length contraction can be viewed as a visual effect based on the angle of observation of a four-dimensional object.
  • Others argue that relativistic effects are not merely visual, as experiments yield consistent measurements of contracted lengths regardless of the observer's frame.
  • One participant asserts that acceleration can be measured using a mass on a spring, suggesting it is absolute.
  • Another counters that acceleration is not absolute, emphasizing that while proper acceleration is invariant, the magnitude of 3-acceleration varies with the observer's frame.
  • There is a discussion about the implications of a force applied to a mass in motion, with one participant providing an example to illustrate that a constant force does not lead to exceeding the speed of light.
  • Some participants clarify that the acceleration experienced by an astronaut is dependent on the observer's velocity, distinguishing between proper acceleration and coordinate acceleration.
  • One participant highlights the importance of clarifying terms used in the discussion, particularly regarding what is meant by "the acceleration experienced by an astronaut."
  • A later reply introduces a covariant approach to discussing acceleration, emphasizing the use of proper time and the transformation properties of physical observables under Lorentz transformations.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the nature of acceleration and its dependency on the observer's frame. Multiple competing views remain regarding the definitions and implications of proper and coordinate acceleration.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the potential ambiguity in the terms used to describe acceleration and the varying interpretations of how acceleration is measured across different frames. The discussion also reflects the complexity of relativistic effects and their implications in different contexts.

Masterov
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Ibix said:
No. Length contraction can be seen as a result of viewing a 4d object at a different angle. It's closely analogous to the fact that you can slice a sausage perpendicular to its length and get a circular face, or at an angle and get an elliptical face. The sausage hasn't changed (and certainly spacetime hasn't), but the part of it you are looking at has.
Does this mean that the relativistic effects are visual?
 
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Masterov said:
Does this mean that the relativistic effects are visual?
No. Any experiment, optical or mechanical or whatever, will yield the same (contracted) length.
 
Any?

Experiment (for example):

We will measure acceleration a(t):
1231a.gif


The acceleration is the absolute,
and it can be measured by
the mass on the spring.

The actual position and speed:

11.png
 
Acceleration is not absolute. Everyone agrees whether someone is undergoing proper acceleration or not. They do not agree on the magnitude of the 3-acceleration, which is what you are integrating.
 
Acceleration is not absolute?

Mass on the spring shows the same acceleration, regardless of the speed of the inertial system.

Or no?
 
No. ##F=\gamma^3 ma##, assuming velocity and acceleration are parallel. If what you said were true, a 1N force applied to a 1kg mass going 1m/s below c would exceed light speed in one second (thanks to @Dale for that example).
 
The acceleration experienced by an astronaut depends on the velocity of the observer.

So?

It's hard to imagine it.
 
Masterov said:
google translate not cope with the transformation.
======================================

Mass on the spring shows the same acceleration, regardless of the speed of the inertial system.

Or no?
A mass on a spring doesn't measure acceleration; it measures force in the frame in which the mass is (momentarily) at rest. You can convert this to proper acceleration if you know the mass. It doesn't measure force in any other frame.
 
You are mixing up frames.

In the astronaut's rest frame then his acceleration is his proper acceleration and is an invariant.

However, in any other frame, the measured acceleration depends on the astronaut's velocity relative to that frame.

The second one is the relevant point of view if we are discussing length contraction. In the first case we would measure proper length and proper acceleration.
 
  • #10
Masterov said:
The acceleration experienced by an astronaut depends on the velocity of the observer.

So?

It's hard to imagine it.
Probably hard to image because you are misinterpreting what was said, and setting up a false straw man argument. No one said the astronaut him/herself did not EXPERIENCE a specific acceleration, what was said that other frames of reference do not agree that it is the same. The astronaut doesn't care what they see, just as neither I nor my clock care that we are seen as MASSIVELY time dilated by a particle in CERN.

EDIT: I see Ibix corrected you before I finished typing.
 
  • #11
It does not. However, that is not relevant to the thread(Edit: not relevant to the topic of length contraction, which was the topic of the thread this was orignially posted in), nor to the point you were trying to make with your mass on a spring.
 
Last edited:
  • #12
Weight of astronaut (in outer space), whith he presses on a seat, do not depend on the velocity of the observer.

With this you agree?
 
  • #13
Masterov said:
The acceleration experienced by an astronaut depends on the velocity of the observer. Or no?
If by "acceleration" you mean "proper acceleration" (which is what the astronaut feels pushing on him, but has very little to do with his or anyone else's measurement of how his speed is changing) then the answer is "no"

If by "acceleration" you mean coordinate acceleration (how his speed is changing with time) then the answer is "yes".
 
  • #14
Masterov said:
Does this mean that the relativistic effects are visual?
Any?

Experiment (for example):

We will measure acceleration a(t):
1231a.gif


The acceleration is the absolute,
and it can be measured by
the mass on the spring.

The actual position and speed:

11.png

======================================


I asked only:

The acceleration experienced by an astronaut depends on the velocity of the observer.

Or no?

Good by...

Obviously ##\vec{a}(t)## is only a function of time.

[add]
Actually, on second thought, this isn't so obvious! But we write a(t), and not a(t,v), so in this sense, a(t) is only a function of time.While it's clear that ##\vec{a}(t)## is in some only a function of time, It's not clear what you mean by "the acceleration experienced by an astronaut". One presumes that we are invited to imagine that you are asking about ##\vec{a}(t)##, but the presence of the unexplained spring and mass in your diagram and the wording of your question suggests you might be interested in something other than ##\vec{a}##.

Several people have talked about things you might have mean by "the acceleration experienced by the astronaut" at length, but you've refused to clarify exactly what you meant, and instead of honoring the repeated requests to clarify your quesiton, you refuse to clarify and demanded a yes or no response to an unclear question. This is rather unfortunate.

[add]
Additionally, if we have a frame S, and a frame S', and frame S' is moving relative to frame S with a velocity v, we can talk about a(t) in frame S, and a'(t') in frame S', and ask the question - does the transform between a(t) and a'(t') depend on the relative velocity v between S and S'? The answer in special relativity is yes, unlike the answer in Newtonian mechanics.
 
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  • #15
Well, let's calculate! To discuss Lorentz-transformation properties of physical observables it's good to use manifestly covariant descriptions. This leads quite naturally to the use of the proper time as time variable. Then momentum is
$$p^{\mu}=m \frac{\mathrm{d} x^{\mu}}{\mathrm{d} \tau}.$$
Since by definition (##c=1##, natural units)
$$\mathrm{d} \tau^2 = \mathrm{d} x^{\mu} \mathrm{d} x_{\nu}$$
you have the mass-shell condition
$$p_{\mu} p^{\mu}=m^2=\text{const},$$
and ##m## is the invariant mass (a Lorentz scalar).

The covariant equations of motion reads
$$\frac{\mathrm{d} p^{\mu}}{\mathrm{d} \tau}=\dot{p}^{\mu} = K^{\mu},$$
where ##K^{\mu}## is the Lorentz-force four-vector. Because of the mass-shell condition you have
$$p_{\mu} \dot{p}^{\mu}=0 \; \Rightarrow \; K^{\mu} p_{\mu}=0.$$
This constraint makes only three of the four components of the equations of motion independent, as it should be, i.e., you can solve the three spatial equations, and then the temporal one (which is nothing but the relativistic work-energy theorem) is fulfilled automatically.

A typical example for a Lorentz four-force is the force on a charged particle in an electromagnetic field
$$K_{\mu}=\frac{q}{m} F_{\mu \nu} p^{\nu},$$
where ##F_{\mu \nu}## is the antisymmetric field-strength tensor (or Faraday tensor) with the components of the electric and magnetic field. Then of course the constraint is fulfilled.

The covariant acceleration
$$a^{\mu}=\frac{1}{m} \dot{p}^{\mu}=\ddot{x}^{\mu}$$
is obviously a four-vector and transforms as such under Lorentz transformations. Since ##a_{\mu} p^{\mu}=0## and ##p^{\mu}## is always a time-like vector ##a^{\mu}## is spacelike. Nevertheless, contrary to the situation in non-relativistic mechanics, the acceleration also changes its components under rotation-free Lorentz boosts.
 
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