Ph

hysicsSpaace

9.4Spaceno
otes
1..TheEarthsgravitaationalfie
eld
Stu
udentslearnto:
deffineweigh
htasthefforceonanobjectd
duetoagravitation
nalfield

Weightiistheforceo
onanobjectinagravitationalfield.Ittisavectorq
quantityand
dthe
measureementunitisstheNewton
n(N).

exp
plainthatachangeingravitaationalpotentialen
nergyisrelatedto
workkdone

ConsidertheworkdoneinmovinganobjecttfromtheEaarth'ssurfaceetoaheight,,h
metres.
o
o
o
o
o

W=F.d
W=Fg.d(whereFgisthe
eweightofth
heobject)
Therefore,W
Fg=mg(asw
weightoftheobject=m
massxaccelerrationdueto
ogravity)
Therefore,W
W=mg.d
Therefore,W
W=mgh(hissthedistanccetheobjectthasbeenm
moved)

deffinegravittationalpo
otentiale
energyasttheworkdonetom
movean
objecctfromavverylarge
edistanceawaytoaapointina
gravitationalfiield

Thegravvitationalpottentialenerggyofanobje
ectatsomep
pointwithinaagravitation
nal
fieldiseequivalentto
otheworkdo
oneinmovin
ngtheobjecttfromaninfinitedistanceto
thatpoint.

Itcanbeeshownmatthematicallythatthegravvitationalen
nergy,Ep,ofaanobjectwitth
mass,m
m1,adistancee,r,fromtheecentreofaplanetofmaass,m2,isgivvenby:

AgraphoftheEpsurrroundingap
planetlookslikethis:
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Whenliftinganob
bjectagainsttagravitationalfield,ee.g.launchingarocket,
workisdoneonth
heobject,th
hatis,energgyistransfeerredtotheeobject.The
e
objectssgravitation
nalpotentiaalenergy,EEp,thatis,th
heenergyitthasdueto
oits
position
nwithintheegravitation
nalfield,inccreasesasaaresult.
Whenaanobjectmovestowarrdthesourcceofthegraavitationalffield,suchaas
whendroppingasstone,energgyduetopo
ositioninafieldistran
nsformedinto
kineticenergy(theestonespeeedsup).
Hencettheposition
noflowestEpinthegraavitationalffieldsurrou
undingaplaanet
isattheesurfaceofftheplanet.
AnobjeectonlyhaszeroEpwh
henitisnolongerwithiinthegravittationalfielld,
thatis,averylargeedistanceaaway.(Math
hematically,,distancem
mustbe
infinite.)
Stud
dents:

perrformaninvestigationandgaatherinfo
ormationttodeterm
mineavalu
ue
onduetoggravityussingpendu
ulummottionor
foraccceleratio
comp
puterassisstedtechn
nologyan
ndidentifyyreasonfo
orpossiblle
2

variationsfrom
mthevalu
ue9.8ms
Avaalueforaccellerationduetogravitycaaneasilyand
daccuratelyb
bemeasured
dbyobservin
ng
themotionofapendulum.
1. Constructapendulu
umatleastonemetrelon
ng,attachedatitstoptoasupport(ssuch
asaclam
mpconnecteedtoaretorttstand)andwithasmallmasstiedto
oitsloweren
ndto
actasth
hependulum
mbob.
2. Measureethelength(l)ofyourpeendulum,fro
omitspointofattachmenttothecen
ntre
ofmassofitsbob.
3. Pullthependulumasideandreleeaseitsothaatitstartssw
winging.Usin
ngastopwatch
(orotheerdeviceformeasuringtiime),beginttimingatanextremeoftthependulum
ms

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motionaandtimeten
nfullswings(oneswing=
=backandfo
orth)ofthep
pendulum.
Divideth
histimebytentogetavvaluefortheaverageperiod(T)oftheemotion.Ussing
thisaverragingtechniquetendstominimiserrandomerrors.

Theperiiodofapend
dulumdepen
ndsuponthe
elength(l)andthevalueeofaccelerattion
duetoggravity(g),assdescribedin
nthefollowiingequation:

Rearranggingthisequ
uationgivesaanexpressio
onthatcanbeusedtocalculateg.

4. Substitu
uteyourvaluesforlandTTintothiseq
quationtodeetermineavalueforg.

gatthersecon
ndaryinfo
ormationttopredict thevalue
eofacceleerationdu
ue
tograavityono
otherplan
nets
Informationabo
outtheradiuss(r)andmasss(m)ofplanetscanbeu
usedtocalcu
ulateapredicted
valueofgforaccertainplaneetbyusingth
hefollowingequation:

anaalyseinforrmationu
usingthee
expression
nF=mgttodeterminethe
weightforcefo
orabodyonEarthandforth
hesameb
bodyon
mula.
otherrplanetsyepnufffsaidtherre,justussetheform

2.Asuccessfulroccketlaunch
Stu
udentslearnto:
desscribethetrajectoryyofanob
bjectunde
ergoingprrojectilem
motion
msofhorizontalan
nd
withiintheEartthsgravittationalfieldinterm
verticcalcompo
onents

Thetrajeectoryofap
projectileinttheEarthsgrravitationalffieldisparab
bolic,provide
ed
thatairresistanceisignoredand
dtheaccelerationdueto
ogravityisun
niform.
o Thiscomplexmotioncan
nbeanalysedbyconsideeringitshorizzontaland
verticalcom
mponentsatp
particularinsstancesdurin
ngtheflight.Thehorizon
ntal
motionofth
heprojectileisaconstanttvelocity(airresistanceisassumed
negligible).IItsverticalm
motionischangingallthetimedueto
otheeffecto
of
2
gravity,whicchcausestheeprojectilettoaccelerateeat9.8ms downwards.

desscribeGalileosanalysisofprrojectilem
motion

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Galileop
postulatedth
hatallobjectts,regardlesssoftheirmaass,fallattheesamerate.In
otherwo
ords,theacccelerationdu
uetogravityisthesameforallobjectts.Thisisonly
trueifairresistancecanbeignored.
o Experimentssbasedondroppingdiffe
erentobjectssprovedinco
onclusiveso
Galileodeveelopedametthodofrollin
ngballsdown
nhighlypolisshedrampsiin
ordertomakehiscompaarisons.Thisenabledhim
mtoslowdow
wnthemotion
enoughtom
makemoreacccurateobse
ervationsoftthemotion.

exp
plainthecconceptoffescapevvelocityin
ntermsoffthe:
o
o

gravitationalconstaant
massan
ndradiusofttheplanet

Escaapevelocityyistheinitiaalvelocityrrequiredbyaprojectileetoriseverrticallyandjjust
escaapethegravvitationalfiieldofaplaanet.

ntogravitattionalpoten
ntial
Durringthisrisee,theprojecctileskineticenergytrransformsin
eneergy,sothatt:Ekinitiallyy=Epfinallyy
From
mtherelatiionshipdescribedabovve,thefollo
owingexpreessionforesscapeveloccity
ofaplanetcanbededuceed.

From
mtheexpresssionprovideedinBackgro
oundabove,itcanbeseeenthattheeescapevelociity
depeendsuponth
heuniversalgravitationaalconstant,G
G,themasso
oftheplanettandtheradius
ofth
heplanet.Itdoesnotdependonanyyintrinsicpro
opertyoftheeprojectile.TTheescape
velo
ocityforobjeectsleavingtheEarthworksouttobe
eapproximattely40000kkmh1.

only.Itwouldnotbeposssibleto
Itisworthnotingthatthisisahypotheticalconcepto
succcessfullyperfformsuchalaunchfortw
woreasons.
1. Tryingto
otravelthrou
ughtheEarthsdenselow
weratmosph
hereatthissspeedwould
produceeanenormousamounto
ofheat,sufficcienttovapo
orisetheprojjectile.
2. Anylivin
ngthingordelicateequip
pmentwould
dbecrushed
dbytheenorrmousgforces
createdbytheproceessofsudden
nlybeingaccceleratedto40000kmh
h1

outtlineNewtonsconcceptofesscapevelo
ocity

Newtoncreatedahyypotheticalsscenarioasfo
ollows.Aperrsonclimbed
daverytall
projectile
mountainandlaunchedaprojecctilehorizonttallyfromtheepeak.Thep
followsaaparabolicp
path(seetheeabovediscu
ussionrelatin
ngtoprojecttilemotion)
beforesstrikingthegground.Ifano
otherprojecttilewerelau
unchedfasterrthanthefirrst,
thenitw
wouldtravelfurtherbefo
orestrikingth
heground.Iffyetanotherrprojectilew
were
launchedfastenouggh,thenitshouldbeable
etotravelrigghtaroundth
heEarth
becausee,asitfalls,thesurfaceo
oftheEarthccurvesawayfromit.Thecurveofthe
e
projectillesmotionw
wouldfollow
wthatofthee
earthssurfaceandthusnothitit.Th
his
projectillewouldtheenbeinacirccularorbitattafixedheigghtabovetheeearthssurface.
(Foranaanalysisofth
heforcesopeeratingtoestablishthisccircularmotion,seebelow.)

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Ifaprojeectileislaunchedstillfasster,itsorbitwillstretchoutintoaneellipticalshap
pe.
Evenfassterlaunchvelocitiesresu
ultinthepro
ojectilefollow
wingaparab
bolicor
hyperbo
olicpathawaayfromtheEEarth,escapingitentirelyy.

identifywhyytheterm
mgforcesisusedto
oexplaintheforcessactingon
anasstronautd
duringlaunch

Theterm
mgforceisusedtoexpressapparen
ntweightasaproportion
noftrueweiight.
Trueweightcannotbefeltasitisagravitatio
onalforceatadistancetthatactsone
each
body.Appareentweightiswhatapersonexperienccesorfeels
atomofapersonsb
whenan
nexternalforceactsontthemtocausseachangeintheirmotio
on(either
magnitu
udeordirectionorboth)..Theseforce
esarealsocaalledinertialforcesbecau
use
theyarissefromtheb
bodysinertiaorresistan
ncetohavinggitsmotioncchanged.The
ey
canbeccalculated.

disccussthee
effectofth
heEarth'ssorbitalm
motionand
ditsrotattional
motio
ononthe
elaunchofarocket

TherotaationoftheEEarthonitsaaxis,andtheorbitalmotiionoftheEartharoundtthe
Sun,can
nbeusedtoprovidealau
unchedrocke
etwithavelocityboost.Thisallowstthe
operatorsoftherockettosavefuelinachievvingthetargeetvelocity.
Rocketslaunchingin
ntoorbitarelaunchedtotheeast,inthedirection
noftheEarths
1
rotation.Theythereforereceivea1700kmh
h boosttow
wardtheirtarrgetvelocityof
approxim
mately3000
00kmh1foralowEarthorbit.
RocketsthatareheaadingawayfrromtheEartthandfurtheerintospaceearenot
launcheduntilthedirectionofth
heEarthinittsorbitaroundtheSunccorrespondswith
thedesireddirection
n.Therockettisthenlaun
ncheduptoaalowEartho
orbit,before
firingitssrocketsagaintoaccelerrateaheadofftheEarth.TThevelocityboostreceivved
fromtheeEarthsorbitalmotioninthiscaseissapproximattely107000kmh1.

anaalysethecchangingacceleratiionofaro
ocketduringlaunch
hintermsof
the:

o
o
o

LawofC
Conservation
nofMomentum
forcesexperiencedb
byastronautts
LawofC
Conservation
nofMomentum

Rocketp
propulsionisderivedfrom
maforcepair(asdescrib
bedinNewto
onsthirdlaw
w).

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ThisisanexampleofhowtheLa
awofConserrvationofMo
omentumcanbeusedto
o
on.Theinitiaalmomentum
moftherockketanditsfu
ueliszero.Th
his
analyserocketmotio
summustbepreservved(theLaw
wofConserva
ationofMom
mentum).No
otethatwhile
themassoffuelburnedinaseco
ondismuchlessthantheemassoftherocket,the
e
velocityofthehotexhaustgasessismuchgre
eaterthanth
hevelocityofftherocket.

Notealssothatwhileetheleftsideeoftheequaationremainsquiteconsttantduringaa
burn,thetermsonttherightsideearechangin
ng.Themasssoftherockeetisdecreasing
significantlyasthefu
uelisburned
d(typically,9
90%ofarockketsmassisfuel).This
meanstthatthevelocityofthero
ocketmustin
ncreasesigniificantly.

Forcese
experiencedbyastronau
uts

Notethaattwoforcessactuponan
nastronautd
duringlaunch:theupwardthrust(T)as
wellastthedownwardweight(W
Wormg).New
wtonssecon
ndlawcanbeusedtode
erive
asimpleeexpressionforaccelerattionofarockketthatislauncheddirecctlyup(usingg

thediaggramabove):

Asdescrribedabove,ifthemassoftherockettdecreasesd
duringflightandthethru
ust
remainssconstant,th
heaccelerationoftheroccket(andasttronauts)inccreases.Thussthe
forceexperiencedbyytheastronaautincreasess.Refertoth
hegraphabo
ovetoseeho
ow
theforceeschangeattdifferenttim
mesduringtheflightinto
oorbitaroun
ndtheearth.

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analysetheforcesinvolvedinuniformcircularmotionforarangeof
objects,includingsatellitesorbitingtheEarth

Objectsdonotperformuniformcircularmotionunlesstheyaresubjecttoa
centripetalforce.Thisisaforcethatisalwaysperpendiculartothevelocityofthe
object.Thatforcecausesthemovingobjecttocontinuallychangedirectionsothatit
followsacircularpath.Thecentripetalforceisalwaysdirectedtowardthecentreof
thecircularmotion.
Thesourceofthecentripetalforceforarangeofcircularmotionsislistedhere.
Circularmotion

Sourceofcentripetalforce

Ballonastringwhirledina
circle

Tensioninthestring

Cardrivingaroundacorner

Frictionbetweenthetyresandtheroad

SatelliteorbitingtheEarth

GravitationalattractionbetweentheEarthand
thesatellite

comparequalitativelylowEarthandgeostationaryorbits

AlowEarthorbitisanorbitthatliesabovetheEarthsatmospherebutbelowthe
vanAllenradiationbelts.Thismeansthatitsaltitudeisfromapproximately250km
to1000kmabovethesurfaceoftheEarth.AsatelliteinlowEarthorbitwillneedan
orbitalvelocityofapproximately28000kmh1tomaintaintheorbit,whichgivesit
anorbitalperiodofapproximately90minutes.Examplesarethespaceshuttle
(altitude250400km)andtheHubbletelescope(altitude600km).
AsatelliteinageostationaryorbithasanorbitalperiodequaltotheEarths,thatis,it
takesonesiderealday(23hours56minutes)tocompleteanorbit.Toachievethis,
thesatellitemusthaveanaltitudeofapproximately35800km,whichplacesitnear
theupperedgeoftheoutervanAllenbelt.Itsorbitalvelocityisapproximately11
000kmh1.Fromtheground,asatelliteinthistypeoforbitappearsfixedinthesky,
whichmakesitespeciallyusefulforcommunicationsandweathersatellites.

Thecentripetalforcetomaintainanorbitisprovidedbygravity.
Fgravity=Fcentripetal
GMms/r2=msv2/r
M=massofearth(kg);ms=massofsatellite(kg);G=universalgravitationalconstant;v=
orbitalspeedinlinearterms(ms1)&r=theorbitalradius(m)
Theorbitalspeed(v)canalsobecalculatedfromtheorbitpath(2pr)dividedbytheperiod
(T)ofmotionmeasuredinseconds.
v=2pr/T

definethetermorbitalvelocityandthequantitativeandqualitative
relationshipbetweenorbitalvelocity,thegravitational
constant,massofthecentralbody,massofthesatelliteandthe
radiusoftheorbitusingKepler'sLawofPeriods

Orbitalvelocityistheinstantaneousspeed(magnitude)inthedirectionindicatedby
anarrow(directional)drawnasatangenttothepointofinterestontheorbitalpath.

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Quantitaativerelatio
onship:(whered=averaggedistanceb
betweencentresofthetw
wo
masses;v=orbitalvvelocity;M=largermass;;ms=smalleermass;G=gravitational
constantt;T=periodoforbit)

Fg=Fc((gravityistheecentripetallforce)

UsingKeeplersLawo
ofPeriods,

acccountforttheorbitaaldecayoffsatellitessinlowEaarthorbitt

Asatellitteinastableeorbitaroun
ndtheEarthpossessesacertainamountof
mechanicalenergy,w
whichisthesumofitskiineticenergyy(duetoitsh
highspeed)aand
itsgravittationalenerrgy(duetoittsaltitude).TThelowerth
healtitudeofftheorbit,th
he
lowerth
hetotalmech
hanicalenerggyis.
SatellitesinlowEartthorbitaressubjecttofricctionwithth
hesparseoutterfringesoffthe
here.Thisfrictionresultssinalossofenergy.Thelossofenerggymeansthaat
atmosph
thisorbiitisnolongeerviableandthesatellite
edropsdown
ntoanaltitudethat
correspo
ondswithitssnew,lowerenergy.Ironically,thesatellitewillbeemovingfasster
thanbeffore(recallth
hatlowerorbitsrequirefasterorbitalvelocities)howeverthe
e
extrakin
neticenergyisderivedfromthelostpotentialenergy.
Thisisth
heprocessoforbitaldecay,anditisccyclic,asthesatellitesneewlowerorb
bit
residesiinslightlydeenseratmosp
phere,which
hleadstofurrtherfrictionandlossof
energy.TTheprocessisnotonlyccontinuousb
butspeedsup
pastimegoeeson.

disccussissue
esassociattedwithssafereentryforam
mannedsp
pacecraft
intottheEarthsatmosphereandlandingontheEartthssurfacce

Heat:Th
heconsiderablekineticandpotentialenergyposssessedbyanorbiting
spacecraaftmustbelostduringreeentry.Asth
heatmospheeredecelerattesthe
spacecraaft,theenergyisconverttedintoagre
eatdealofheat.Thisheaatmustbe
toleratedand/ormin
nimised.Theeheatcanbe
etoleratedbyusingheattshieldsthattuse
ablatinggsurfaces(assusedonApollocapsuless)orinsulatingsurfaces((asusedontthe
spacesh
huttle).Theh
heatcanbem
minimisedbyytakinglonggertoreenteer,thereby
lengthen
ningthetimeeoverwhich
htheenergyisconverted
dtoheat.Theespaceshutttle
usesthisstechnique.
gforces:Thedecelerationofareeenteringsp
pacecraftalsoproducesggforces,typiically
greatertthanthoseeexperiencedduringlauncch.Highgforrcescanbeb
bettertoleratted
byreclin
ningtheastro
onaut,sothaatbloodisnotforcedaw
wayfromthebrain,andb
by
fullysup
pportingthebody.Thegforcescanbeminimised
dbyextendin
ngthereenttry,
slowingtherateofd
descent.Thissstrategyise
employedbyythespaceshuttle.
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Foratim
meduringreentry,thereeisaradioblackoutcauseedbyoverheeatedair
particlessionisingastheycollidewiththespaacecraft.Thissmaybeasaafetyissueif
contactisneededbeetweenthesspacecraftan
ndearthatthisphaseofitsflight.
Reachingthesurfacee:Evenafterrsurvivingth
heissueslisteedabove,theespacecraft
musttou
uchdownso
oftlyontotheesurfaceofttheEarth.Seeveralsolutio
onstothis
problem
mhavebeenemployed,suchasfirstu
usingparachutesandtheensplashinginto
ocean,o
orusingman
nyparachutesbeforecrun
nchingontotheground,orbylandingon
anairstrip(asperformedbytheespaceshutttle).

identifythatthereissanoptimum
mangleforre
eentryintotheEarthsaatmosphereand
theconssequencesofffailingtoacchievethisangle
Foranygivenspaceccraftwishinggtoreentersafely,anop
ptimumangleeofreentryy
exists.ForApollocap
psulesthisanglewasbettween5.2aand7.2,alth
houghthiswo
ould
differforotherspacecraft.
Ifthean
ngleistooshallowthenthespacecrafftwillrebound,duetoco
ompressiono
of
theatmosphereben
neathit.
Ifthean
ngleistoosteeepthentheespacecraftw
willdeceleraatetooquickkly,creatingttoo
muchheeatandburn
ningupthespacecraft.

Stud
dents:

solvveproblemsandan
nalyseinformation using:

Problem
mscouldtakeetheformoffabsolutecalculationsorrsatellitecom
mparisons.TThe
expressiionbelowisamoreusefulformofKe
eplersthirdlaw;thelaw
wofperiods.It
canbeaappliedtoan
nyorbitingob
bject,e.g.assatelliteorbitingaplanettoraplanet
orbitingtheSun.Ifccomparingtw
woobjectsorbitingthesaamecentralbody,thentthe
righthan
ndsideofth
heexpression
nhasafixedvalueandheence:

3.TTheSolaarSystem
misheldtogetherbygravvity
Stud
dentslearntto:

desscribeagrravitationalfieldintheregio
onsurroun
ndingamaassiveobjject
interrmsofitseffectson
nothermassesinitt

Thestreengthofagraavitationalfieeldaroundaamassiveobjjectispropo
ortionaltothe
valueoffit'smassanddecreasesininverseprroportiontothesquareo
ofthedistan
nce
fromtheecentreofth
heobject.So
o,ifothersm
mallermassessareintheffield,theforcceof
attractio
ontothemassiveobjectthattheyexxperiencewillldependontheirmassaand
thedistaancetotheccentreoftheemassiveobjject.

deffineNewton'sLawofUniversalGravitation

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Insimplisticterms,w
whatNewton
nsaidwasth
hatanobjecttattractseveeryotherobjject
intheun
niverse.Thetwofactorsthatdeterminetheforceeoftheattraactionare:
o themassofeachofthetwoobjects
o thedistance
esbetweentheircentresofmass.

Inmatheematicalterm
ms,thisis:

where,
o F=forceofa
attractionbeetweenobjeccts
o G=universa
algravitation
nalconstant((whichisequ
ualto6.67x1011Nm2kgg2)
o m1=masso
ofobject1
o m2=masso
ofobject2
o d=distancebetweentheircentreso
ofmass

disccusstheim
mportancceofNewtton'sLaw
wofUniverrsalGravittationin
unde
erstandinggandcalcu
ulatingthemotionofsatellittes
Gravitationpro
ovidestheccentripetalfforcethatp
producesthecircularm
motionthatis
orbitaround
daplanet.TTherefore,iitcanbesaidthat:
thesatelliteso
Gravitationalfo
orce=Centripetalforce

Thissequationsshowsthatttherequireedorbitalve
elocityofassatellitedep
pendsupon
nthe
masssandtheo
orbitalradiu
us.Note:thisequation
nisNOTstip
pulatedbytthesyllabuss.

Thefollo
owingexpresssionscanbeederived,fro
omtherelationshipsdesscribedinthe
e
twolotssofbackgrou
undinformattionabove:

Theseco
ondequation
ndescribesttherelationshipbetween
ntheradiuso
ofanorbitan
nd
theperiodforany(aandall)satellites,naturallandartificiaal,orbitingth
heearth.Thiis
secondeequationissstipulatedinthesyllabus.Itisalsoam
moreusefulvversionof
Keplersthirdlaw.

identifythattaslingshoteffectccanbepro
ovidedbyyplanetsfforspace
probe
es

Theslinggshoteffectisalsoknow
wnasaplanetaryswingbyoragravittyassist
manoeu
uvre.Itisperformedtoacchieveaninccreaseinspeeedand/orachangeof
direction
n.
Aspaceccraftisaimedclosetoap
planet.Asitapproaches,,thespacecrraftiscaughttby
thegravvitationalfieldoftheplan
net,andswin
ngsarounditt.Thespeedacquiredistthen
sufficien
nttothrowthespacecrafftbackoutagain,awayfrromtheplan
net.By
controlliingtheappro
oach,theou
utcomeofthe
emanoeuvreecanbeman
nipulated.

Extrrainformattionoutside
ethesyllabus:

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Themanoeuvrecanbeanalysedasanelasticmechanicalinteraction,inwhichboth
momentumandkineticenergyareconserved.
Asaresultoftheinteraction,thespacecraftwillhavespedup,acquiringkinetic
energy.Theplanetwillhaveslowedverymarginally,losinganequivalentamountof
kineticenergy.(RecallthatEk=mv2andthemassofaplanetisverylargesothat
thechangeinvelocityoftheplanetwillbeverysmall.)

4.Currentandemergingunderstandingabouttimeandspace
Studentslearnto:

outlinethefeaturesoftheaethermodelforthetransmissionoflight

Duringthenineteenthcentury,physicistswerecertainthatlightwasawaveform.
Theyassumedthat,likeallotherknownwaveforms,lightwavesneededamedium
throughwhichtotraveltousfromtheSunandotherstars.
Nomediumcouldbefound,andsoonewashypothesised,alongwithasetof
expectedproperties.Itwascalledtheluminiferousaether.
Thelistofpropertiesincludedthefollowing.Theaethershould:
o fillallofspaceandbestationaryinspace
o beperfectlytransparent
o permeateallmatter
o havealowdensity
o havegreatelasticityinordertopropagatethelightwaves.

describeandevaluatetheMichelsonMorleyattempttomeasurethe
relativevelocityoftheEarththroughtheaether

TheMichelsonMorleyexperimentwasdevisedtodetecttheaetherusinglightand
aneffectcalledinterference.
AstheEarthwassupposedtobemovingthroughastationaryaether,thereshould
havebeenanapparentaetherwind.Thespeedoflightwassupposedtobeconstant
intheaether,sothisaetherwindshouldslowdownlightheadingintoit,asseenby
us.TheMichelsonMorleyexperimentcomparedthespeedofsuchalightraywith
anotherlightraydirectedacrosstheaetherwind.Thetworayswerecomparedusing
aninterferometer,adevicethatdisplaysinterferenceeffects.Nosignificant
differencewasfoundbetweenthetwolightrays.
Theexperimentwasofsufficientsensitivityaccordingtotheaethermodel,yetfailed
todetectanypresenceoftheaether.Nomatterwhodidtheexperiment,whereit
wasdoneorwhenitwasdone,noonewasabletophysicallydemonstratethe
interferenceeffectthatwouldprovetheexistanceoftheaether.

discusstheroleoftheMichelsonMorleyexperimentsinmaking
determinationsaboutcompetingtheories

Fromtheorycomepredictionsthatcanbetested.Experimentsareperformedtotest
thepredictions,andfromtheresultsoftheexperiments,judgementscanbemade
regardingthevalidityofthetheory.TheMichelsonMorleyexperimentswere
performedtotesttheprediction,basedontheaethermodel,thatanaetherwind
shouldexist.
TheMichelsonMorleyexperimentswereperformedin1887andhadnullresults,
despitesatisfyingallrequirementsregardingsensitivity.Thisdidnot,however,
disprovethetheory.

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Variousmodificationsoftheaethertheorywereofferedoverthefollowingyears.
Eachmodifiedtheoryresultedinnewpredictionstobetested.Eachtestfailed.
AlmosttwentyyearsaftertheMichelsonMorleyexperiments,Einsteinproposedthe
theoryofrelativity,inwhichtheaethermodelwasnotneeded.Thetheoryof
relativityproduceditsownsetofpredictions,notallofwhichweretestableatthat
time.Astechnologyhasimproved,thepredictionshavebeentestedandfoundtobe
correct.
Thechoiceforscientistswasasfollows:continuetofollowatheoryforwhichno
predictionsprovedtrue(aether)ORfollowanalternativetheoryforwhichprediction
doprovetrue(relativity).

outlinethenatureofinertialframesofreference

Aframeofreferenceisarigidframeworkrelativetowhichposition,displacement,
velocity,etc,canbemeasured.Forexample,theinteriorofacar,train,plane,onthe
ground,theEarth,theSun.
Aninertialframeofreferenceinvolvesnoacceleration.Itallowsforuniformvelocity
motionorastateofrestonly.

discusstheprincipleofrelativity

TheprincipleofrelativitywasfirststatedbyGalileoandembodiedinNewtonsfirst
law.Itstatesthatitisnotpossibletoperformanexperimentwithinaninertialframe
ofreferencetodetectthemotionoftheframeofreference.Theonlywaytodetect
themotionofaninertialframeofreferenceisbyreferringtoanotherframeof
reference.Forexample,ifyouareinaspacecraftfarfromanyplanet,starorother
object,thenyoucannottellifyouaremoving.Yourrocketshavelongbeenturned
offandyouarecoastingalongtoyourdestinationwithuniformvelocity.However,
withoutreferringtooutsideobjects(forexample,triangulatingoffcertainstarsover
alongtimeperiod),itisimpossibletomeasure,orevendetect,yourvelocity.

describethesignificanceofEinsteinsassumptionoftheconstancyof
thespeedoflight

Oneofthefundamentalpostulatesofthetheoryofrelativityisthatallobserverssee
lighttravellingatthesamespeedc(3108ms1),regardlessoftheirmotion.Inthe
thoughtexperimentdescribedabove,heemphasisedthatthetraintravellerandthe
observeratthesideofthetrackmustbothseelighttravellingatthesamespeed.
This,however,meansthattimepassesdifferentlyforeachobserver.

identifythatifcisconstantthenspaceandtimebecomerelative

Inclassicalphysics,space(thatis,position,displacementandvelocity,includingthe
speedoflight)canberelativetoanobserver,buttimeisanabsolutequantity,
passingidenticallyforeverybody.
Inthetheoryofrelativity,whichassumesthatcisconstantforallobservers,then
timeisrelativeaswellasspace.Inotherwords,timepassesdifferentlyfordifferent
observers,dependinguponhowfasttheyaremoving.

Inthethoughtexperimentdescribedabove,bothobserversseelight
travellingatthesamespeed,c.However,theobserveronthegroundsees
thelighttraveltwiceasfartoreachthemirror.Sincec=distance/time,this
mustmeanthattheobserveroutsidethetrainsawthelighttaketwiceas

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longtoreachthemirror.Inotherwords,asseenfromoutsidethetrain,time
insidethetrainhassloweddown.

discusstheconceptthatlengthstandardsaredefinedintermsoftime
incontrasttotheoriginalmetrestandard

Themetrewasdefinedin1793forthefirsttime,whentheFrenchgovernment
decreedittobeonetenmillionthofthelengthoftheEarth'squadrantpassing
throughParis.Afterthisarcwassurveyed(incorrectly),threeplatinumstandards
weremadealongwithseveralironcopies.
WhentheSystemeInternationale(SI)ofunitswassetupin1875,themetrewas
definedtobethedistancebetweentwolinesscribedonasinglebarofplatinum
iridiumalloy.
Thecurrentdefinitionofthemetreismuchmorepreciseandaccessible.Onemetre
isdefinedasthelengthofthepathtravelledbylightinavacuumduringthetime
intervalof1/299792458thofasecond.Thismoderndefinitiontakesadvantageof
theconstancyofthespeedoflight,aswellasthecapabilitytechnologyhasgivenus
tomeasuretimeandthespeedoflightwithgreatprecision.
Thelightyearisanotherlengthstandarddefinedintermsoftimeandthespeedof
light.Itisequalto9.471012km.

explainqualitativelyandquantitativelytheconsequenceofspecial
relativityinrelationto:
o
o
o
o
o

therelativityofsimultaneity
theequivalencebetweenmassandenergy
lengthcontraction
timedilation
massdilation

Therelativityofsimultaneity

Iftwoeventsindifferentplacesarejudgedbyoneobservertobesimultaneousthen
theywillnotgenerallybejudgedtobesimultaneousbyanotherobserverina
differentreferenceframeinrelativemotion.Inotherwords,whetherornottwo
eventsareseenbyyoutobesimultaneousdependsuponwhereyouarestanding.

TrythisthoughtexperimentofferedbyEinstein:

Atrainisfittedwithlightoperateddoors.Thelightfittingisinthecentreoftheroof,
andisoperatedbyatraintravellerstandinginthemiddleofthefloor.Whenthe
trainistravellingathalfthespeedoflight,thetraintravellerturnsonthelight.The
lighttravelsforwardsandbackwardswithequalspeedandreachesbothdoorsatthe
sametime.Thedoorsthenopen,andthetraintravellerseesthemopening
simultaneously.Anobserverstandingoutsidethetrainwatchesthishappen,but
seesthebackdooropeningbeforethefront.Thisisbecausethebackdooris
advancingonthelightwavescomingfromthelight,whilethefrontdoorismoving
awayfromthelightwaves.

Theequivalencebetweenmassandenergy

Therestmassofanobjectisequivalenttoacertainquantityofenergy.Masscanbe
convertedintoenergyunderextraordinarycircumstancesand,conversely,energy
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canbecconvertedinttomass.Forexample,paartofthemaassisconverttedintoenerrgy
innuclearfissionreaactions.Wheenaparticleanditsantiparticlecollide,theentirre
ntoenergy.
massiscconvertedin
Einsteinsfamouseq
quationexpreessestheequivalencebeetweenenerggy,Eandmaass,
m:E=m
mc2.Theamo
ountofenerggygivenoffinanuclearttransmutatio
onisrelatedby
thisequationtotheamountofm
masslost.
InSpeciaalRelativity,theLawofC
Conservation
nofEnergyandtheLawo
ofConservattion
ofMasshavebeenrreplacedbyttheLawofCo
onservationofMassEneergy.

Lengthcontracction

Thelenggthofanobjectmeasureedwithinitsrestframeisscalleditsprroperlength(Lo).
Observeersindifferen
ntreferenceframesinre
elativemotio
onwillalwayssmeasureth
he
length(LLv)tobeshorter.

Theequationthatexxpressesthissis
Forexam
mple:Atrainthatismeassuredtobe1
100metreslongwhenattrest,travelssat
80%oftthespeedoflight(0.8c)..Apersoninsidethetrainwillmeasu
urethelengthof
thetrain
ntobe100m
m.Apersonsstandingbytthesideofth
hetrackwillobservethe
traintobejust60m
metreslong.

Tim
medilation

Thetimeetakenforaneventtooccurwithiniitsrestframeeiscalledthepropertim
me
(to).Obsserversindiffferentrefereenceframesinrelativem
motionwillalwaysjudgetthe
timetakken(tv)tobelonger.

Theequationthatexxpressesthissis

Forexam
mple:Atraveelleronatrainwithaspe
eedof0.8c,picksupand
dopensa
newspap
per.Theeventtakes1.0ssecondasmeasuredbytthetraintravveller.As
observedbyaperso
onstandingb
bythesideoffthetrackth
heeventtakees1.7second
ds.

Masssdilation

AnotherrconsequencceofthetheeoryofSpecialRelativityisthatthem
massofamovving
objectin
ncreasesasitsvelocityin
ncreases.Thisisthephen
nomenonofmassdilatio
on.It
isanotherexpressionofthemasssenergyequivalencean
ndisrepresented
mathem
maticallyas:

where
o
o
o
o

m=relativissticmassofp
particle,
m0=restmaassofparticle,
visthevelocityofthepaarticlerelativvetoastatio
onaryobservverand
c=speedofflight.

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Thiseffectisnoticeableonlyatrelativisticspeeds.Asanobjectisacceleratedclose
tothespeedoflightitsmassincreases.Themoremassiveitbecomes,themore
energythathastobeusedtogiveitthesameacceleration,makingfurther
accelerationsmoreandmoredifficult.Theenergythatisputintoattempted
accelerationisinsteadconvertedintomass.Thetotalenergyofanobjectisthenits
kineticenergyplustheenergyembodiedinitsmass.

Toaccelerateeventhesmallestbodytothespeedoflightwouldrequireaninfinite
amountofenergy,alltheenergyoftheuniverse,plusawholelotmore.Thus
materialobjectsarelimitedtospeedslessthanthespeedoflight.

discusstheimplicationsoftimedilationandlengthcontractionfor
spacetravel

Recallfrompart3ofthistopicthatcurrentmaximumvelocitiesdonotallowfor
viableinterstellartravelbecausethetraveltimesareprohibitivelylong.
Providedthatrelativisticspeedscouldbereached,theneareststarsshouldbeable
tobereachedinseveralyears.Forexample,travellingtoAlphaCentauriathalfthe
speedoflightshouldtakealittleovereightyears.However,duetotimedilationand
lengthcontraction,thejourneywouldtakesignificantlylesstime.
FromtheEarthspointofviewtheclocksonthespacecraftaremovingslowly,sothat
lesstimepassesonthespacecraftcomparedtotheEarth.Fromthepointofviewof
thespacecraftoccupants,thelengthofthejourneyhascontractedtoasignificantly
shorterdistance,whichtheycoverinlesstime.Intheexampleabove,theoccupants
recordapproximatelysevenyearspassingbeforetheyarriveattheirdestination,
ratherthaneightyears.
Acceleratingtorelativisticspeedswouldincurconsiderableenergycosts,duetothe
conversionofenergyintomass.

Students:

performaninvestigationtohelpdistinguishbetweennoninertialand
inertialframesofreference

Performtheinvestigationthatmaybeplannedbyyourteacher,bycarryingoutthe
proceduresefficientlyandsafely.

Asampleinvestigationthatcanbeeasilycarriedoutisasfollows:
o Aplumbbobwillonlyhangdirectlydowninaninertial(ornonaccelerated)
frameofreference;itwillhanginotherdirectionsinnoninertial(or
accelerated)framesofreference.Trylettingonehangfromyourhandwhile
youarestandingstillorwalkingwithasteadyvelocity(thatis,asteady
speedinastraightline).Next,tryacceleratingtoarun,stoppingquicklyor
changingdirection.Howdidtheplumbbobreactundereachofthese
conditions?
o Youshouldbeabletotesttheseobservationsbytakingyourplumbbobona
rideinacarorbus.Donotlookoutthewindow,butonlyobservetheplumb
bob.Canyoudeducethemotionofthevehiclefromthedirectioninwhich
theplumbbobhangs?
o Theplumbbobinthisactivityhasbeenusedasanaccelerometer.

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analyseandinterpretsomeofEinsteinsthoughtexperimentsinvolving
mirrorsandtrainsanddiscusstherelationshipbetweenthought
andreality
Imaginethatyouaresittinginatrainfacingforwards.Thetrainismovingatthespeedof
light.Youholdupamirrorinfrontofyou,atarmslength.Willyoubeabletoseeyour
reflectioninthemirror?

Theexperimentcouldhaveoneoftwopossibleoutcomes,eachofwhichinvolvesadilemma
forthescientificcommunityofthetimethatbelievedintheaethermodel:
o

No,thereflectionwillnotappear.Thisistheresultpredictedbytheaethermodel,
sincelightcanonlytravelatasetspeed(3108ms1)throughtheaether.Ifthetrain
istravellingatthatspeedthenthelightcannotcatchthemirrortoreturnasa
reflection.Unfortunately,thisviolatestheprincipleofrelativity,whichstatesthatin
aninertialframeofreferenceyoucannotperformanyexperimenttotellthatyou
aremoving.
Yes,thereflectionwillbeseenbecause,accordingtotheprincipleofrelativity,it
wouldnotbepossibleforthepersoninthetraintodoanythingtodetectthe
constantmotionwithwhichheorsheistravelling.However,apersonwatchingthis
fromthesideofthetrackshouldseethelightfromyourfacetravellingattwiceits
normalspeed!

Einsteindecidedthat:
o
o

thereflectionwillbeseenasnormal,becausehebelievedthattheprincipleof
relativityshouldalwaysholdtrue
thepersonatthesideofthetrackseesthelighttravellingnormally.BUT,thismeans
thattimepassesdifferentlyforyouonthetrainandforthepersonatthesideofthe
track
theaethermode;hasnothingtodowithit.Einsteindescribeditassuperfluous.

analyseinformationtodiscusstherelationshipbetweentheoryandthe
evidencesupportingit,usingEinsteinspredictionsbasedon
relativitythatweremademanyyearsbeforeevidencewas
availabletosupportit
Aproposedtheoryusuallyneedsexperimentalevidencebeforeitistakenseriously.An
exampleofthisfromthepreliminarycourse,alsomentionedinHSCtopic9.4,isMaxwells
theoryofelectromagneticradiation,proposedin1865andnotreallyadopteduntilHeinrich
Hertzprovidedsomeexperimentalevidencemorethantwentyyearslater,in1887.
WhenEinsteinproposedhisspecialtheoryofrelativityin1905,theexperimentaland
technologicalcapabilitytoverifythepredictionsdidnotexist.Whenheproposedhisgeneral
theoryofrelativity(thistheoryincludedgravityandacceleration)in1915,therewasjustone
pieceofevidenceavailable.Itarosefromobservationsofstarlightpassingclosetothesun
possibleonlyatthetimeoftotalsolareclipse.Aslightshiftinthepositionofastarcouldbe
accountedforbeapplyingthegeneraltheory.
Thesetwotheoriesofrelativitydidnotdependontheexistenceoftheaether.As
technologyimprovedinthetwentiethcentury,relativitytheorypredictionsbecametestable.
Someotherpiecesofexperimentalevidencethatbecameavailableintheyearsthat
followedare:
theflyingofatomicclockstodeterminetheexistenceoftimedilation

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thedilatedlifetimesofmesonspenetratingtheEarthsatmosphere
theenergyyieldfromconvertedmassinnuclearreactions
theobservedincreaseinthemassofparticlesacceleratedtonearlightspeed,in
devicessuchasparticleaccelerators.
Asaconsequenceofrelativitytheorysuccesses,andthecontinuingfailureofany
experimentstodemonstratetheexistenceoftheaether,itsexistencewasnolonger
required.

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