This section is part of the HSC Physic syllabus Module 7: Nature of Light under Light and Special Relativity.
In this post, we will investigate the evidence, from Einstein’s thought experiments and subsequent experimental validation for the following videos.
Now we know the concepts of relativity, let’s analyse quantitatively the situations in which these are observed.
Hafele-Keating Experiment
This was an experiment to test the idea of time relativity. A clock was sent on two flight – one flying east and the other west. According to the theory of relativity, the clocks should show a difference in time at the end of their flights.
Cosmic Muons
Muons are unstable particles with a rest mass of 207 times that of an electron.
When high energy particles called cosmic rays (such as protons) enter the atmosphere from outer space, they create a cosmic ray shower of particles including muons that reach the Earth’s surface.
Muons created in these cosmic ray showers travel at 0.98c.
This breaks the laws of Newtonian physics but correlates to the ideas of special relativity.
