Proper Time : Constant Velocity Clock vs Constant Acceleration Clock

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of proper time as it relates to three clocks positioned at different distances from Earth, with one clock undergoing constant acceleration. The problem involves comparing the proper time readings of these clocks under different conditions, including constant velocity and constant acceleration scenarios.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the evaluation of integrals to determine proper time for clock C, with some questioning the accuracy of numerical methods used. There is also consideration of how the proper time for clock C compares to that of clock A and clock B.

Discussion Status

Several participants have shared their attempts at solving the problem, noting discrepancies in their results and discussing potential numerical precision issues. There is an ongoing exploration of the expected relationships between the proper times of the clocks, particularly regarding clock C's acceleration and its impact on time dilation.

Contextual Notes

Participants have noted corrections to the acceleration value used in calculations and have expressed concerns about numerical precision affecting their results. The original poster highlights a lack of numerical answers in existing discussions on proper time, indicating a desire for more concrete examples.

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Homework Statement


3 clocks at to
A clock on Earth
B clock above Earth 4.66 * 1014 meters
C clock above Earth 3.30 * 1013 meters
B accelerates to .6 c and arrives at Earth when Earth clock reads 2.6 *106 sec
= 30 days With velocity 1.8 *10^8 m/sec with gamma = .8 B clock reads 2.07 * 10^6 sec = 24 days
C clock travels to Earth with constant acceleration in respect to Earth frame of 9.81 m/sec2
and arrives at the same time as B . C clock velocity 2.5 * 10^7 m/sec
What is the proper time on Clock C ?

Homework Equations


Integral to to 2.6 * 106 sec. sqrt [ 1-v(t)2/c2] dt
So Int to to t1 sqrt [ 1-1.01*10-15t2] dt

The Attempt at a Solution

I put Sqrt{1-ax2] in The Integrator
and plugged in values and got 15 days proper time on C clock ?
 
Last edited:
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morrobay said:

Homework Statement


3 clocks at to
A clock on Earth
B clock above Earth 4.66 * 1014 meters
C clock above Earth 3.30 * 1013 meters
B accelerates to .6 c and reaches Earth when Earth clock reads 2.6 *106 sec
= 30 days . with gamma = .8 B clock reads 2.07 * 10^6 sec = 24 days
C clock travels to Earth with constant acceleration in respect to Earth frame of 9.81 m/sec2
and arrives at the same time as B
What is the proper time on Clock C ?

Homework Equations


Integral to to 2.6 * 106 sec. sqrt [ 1-v(t)2/c2] dt
So Int to to t1 sqrt [ 1-1.01*10-15t2] dt

The Attempt at a Solution

I put Sqrt{1-ax2] in The Integrator
and plugged in values and got 15 days proper time on C clock ?

The evaluation of the above integral =
1/2x sqrt [ 1-ax2] + sin-1 ( sqrt a) x/2 sqrt a

Note: I am posting this problem because there are endless discussions on proper time
but not many numerical answers
 
Last edited:
morrobay said:
The evaluation of the above integral =
1/2x sqrt [ 1-ax2] + sin-1 ( sqrt a) x/2 sqrt a

For the above problem the values for proper time :
x = 2.6 * 106 sec
a= 1.01 * 10 -15
1/2 x = 1.3 *106
x2 = 6.76 * 1012 sec2
a1/2= 3.17 *10-7
2(a)1/2 = 6.35 *10-7
With these values in the above evaluation:
1/2x [1-ax2]1/2 = 1.29 *106 sec
sin-1 (a)1/2 x / 2 a1/2
= sin-1 .824 = 55
so 55/6.35*10-7 = 8.66*107 added to term on left
1.29*106 sec = 87.8*10^6 sec and is not correct since it is more than A clock ?
 
Last edited:
morrobay said:

The Attempt at a Solution

I put Sqrt{1-ax2] in The Integrator
and plugged in values and got 15 days proper time on C clock ?
All your work is good. But it seems like you are getting bad values out of your numerical integration routine. Perhaps it is a numerical precision problem.

I plug the same integral into Mathematica and get 2.588E6 s = 29.95 days.
 
Would you expect that the acellerating clock C in the original problem would have
essentially the same proper time as clock A ( 30 days proper time ) ?
Also clock B had 24 days proper time with .6c

note correction : a = 1.07 * 10 ^-15 from v(t^2)/c^2 = (9.81)^2 m/s^2 / 9*10^16
but does not change values too much.
Yes I am having a few numerical precision problems.
 
Last edited:
morrobay said:
Would you expect that the acellerating clock C in the original problem would have
essentially the same proper time as clock A ( 30 days proper time ) ?
Yes. 3.3E13 m / 2.6E6 s is only an average speed of .04 c which corresponds to an average time dilation factor less than 1.001, so I would expect the clock to not be significantly time dilated overall.
 

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