Pulsar Clock: The Mystery of Slowing Rotation in a Spaceship

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the behavior of a pulsar's rotation when placed in a spaceship and accelerated to a relativistic speed. Participants explore concepts related to energy, time dilation, and the implications of relativistic effects on rotating objects.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions where the energy would come from to slow the rotation of a pulsar when it is accelerated in a spaceship.
  • Another participant asserts that the pulsar's period remains unchanged in the rocket system, emphasizing that energy addition or deletion is not applicable in this context.
  • A repeated inquiry about the formula for the kinetic energy of a relativistically rotating and translating object is raised, indicating a need for clarification on the physics involved.
  • One participant argues that no energy is needed to slow the pulsar's rotation, suggesting that the understanding of how rotation is perceived in different frames of reference is crucial. They differentiate between two scenarios: a round trip (related to the twin paradox) and continuous communication (related to time dilation), noting that the explanations for energy requirements differ in each case.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the implications of relativistic effects on the pulsar's rotation, with no consensus reached on the necessity of energy to alter its rotational speed.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the need for clarity regarding the experimental setup and the definitions of terms like "moving clocks slow down," indicating potential misunderstandings in the discussion.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those exploring relativistic physics, particularly in the context of rotating systems and time dilation effects.

Ross Arden
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If a pulsar with a period of exactly 1 second was put in a spaceship and accelerated up to V where would the energy come from to slow the rotation of the pulsar ?
 
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Pulsar remains the same period in the rocket system. No addition or deletion of energy. Lorentz transformation and addition/deletion of energy are different things.
 
Last edited:
Ross Arden said:
If a pulsar with a period of exactly 1 second was put in a spaceship and accelerated up to V where would the energy come from to slow the rotation of the pulsar ?
What is the formula for the kinetic energy of a relativistically rotating and translating object?
 
Ross Arden said:
If a pulsar with a period of exactly 1 second was put in a spaceship and accelerated up to V where would the energy come from to slow the rotation of the pulsar ?
No energy is needed to slow the rotation of the pulsar, because it doesn't slow down the way you're thinking.

You will have to tell us more about how your experiment works, because two really quite different things are often described as "moving clocks slow down". Are you planning to send the pulsar out on a round trip: the spaceship accelerates away, turns around and comes back, when it's back we ask a crew member how many times it rotated during the trip? Or will the ship carrying the pulsar keep on flying away while the crew member radios back periodic status reports: "The pulsar has rotated X times since my last report?"

The former is the twin paradox; the latter is time dilation. No energy is needed to change the rotational speed of the pulsar in either case, but the explanation of why is different.
 
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I would like to discontinue this thread
 
Ross Arden said:
I would like to discontinue this thread

Thread closed at OP's request.
 

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