Tagged Questions

2
votes
2answers
81 views

Does inertia increase with speed?

I have heard that when the speed of the object increase, the mass of the object also increase. (Why does an object with higher speed gain more (relativistic) mass?) So inertia which is related to ...
-4
votes
0answers
50 views

Why does an object with higher velocity gain more mass? [closed]

if we inject pure energy into a object capable of moving will it affect the structure of its atoms creating bigger neutrons, electrons and protons making the object increase its size affecting its ...
0
votes
3answers
78 views

Mass in special relativity

I have just got a query about how this equation works if its right. We have Newtonian Physics saying $F=ma$, According to the 'Mass in special relativity' the mass changes according to $$m= ...
1
vote
1answer
115 views

Why does Lorentz factor not hold for relativistic mass when we apply it to photons? [duplicate]

We know that the photon itself is massless particle $m_0=0$. But we also know, that the mass of the objects does increase with their energy. And we know that under certain circumstances (gravity, ...
10
votes
2answers
280 views

Does relativistic mass have weight?

If an object was sliding on an infinitely long friction-less floor on Earth with relativistic speeds (ignoring air resistance), would it exert more vertical weight force on the floor than when it's at ...
1
vote
3answers
147 views

What truly is mass, and is there a direct way to measure it?

We know a mass of an object of one kilogram as an object that weighs W = mg = 9.8 N and we reference it to that, (when it should as a fundamental parameter describe weight not the opposite). But if we ...
0
votes
2answers
36 views

Why does the inertial mass of an object rise when a force is exerted on it in a particle accelerator? [closed]

A particle in a cyclotron requires more and more force to maintain the same acceleration as it accelerates.
5
votes
1answer
146 views

Impulse from absorbing a photon? Is there an increase in rest mass?

I'm going through A P French's special relativity. In one chapter (6) the following is set up: Suppose that a stationary particle of mass $M_0$ is struck by a photon of energy $Q$, which is ...
0
votes
0answers
83 views

Alternate derivation of kinetic mass increase in special relativity, from Maudlin

I've recently come across a derivation, which I've not seen before, of mass increase in special relativity. It seems to make sense, but I get tripped-up on an intermediate step, and I can't seem to ...
2
votes
2answers
52 views

Is it part of special relativity that mass possessing energy is more dense?

I was reading http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/hillis/hillis_p2.html and it says that a charged battery weighs more than a dead one or a rotating object weighs more than a stationary one (i.e. mass ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views

Speed of light and lorentzian factors [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: How can a photon have no mass and still travel at the speed of light? If light travels at the speed of light, and anything with rest mass will experience relativistic ...
1
vote
1answer
171 views

Does the increase of (relativistic) mass, while flying near speed of light, has any impact on astronauts? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Would travelling at relativistic speeds have any impact on human biology? I am asking myself this question for a few day. What is the answer on: Does the increase of ...
1
vote
1answer
107 views

Photons and Relativity

Consider a Photon from Sun and travels with a velocity $c$. Now think we are that photon. For us, it looks like Sun is moving away from us with a velocity $c$. So, why don't we get attracted back ...
2
votes
2answers
530 views

Why does an object with higher speed gain more (relativistic) mass?

Today, in my high school physics class, we had an introductory class on electromagnetism. My teacher explained at some point that an object with a very high speed (he said it started to get somewhat ...
2
votes
2answers
151 views

Is there any law that prevents an object with mass to become massless?

I got into a discussion with my physics teacher about the speed of light and I asked What if an object with mass was to lose mass as it gained speed-- would that allow for an object to eventually ...
3
votes
4answers
552 views

Relativistic momentum

I have been trying to derive why relativistic momentum is defined as $p=\gamma mv$. I set up a collision between 2 same balls ($m_1 = m_2 = m$). Before the collision these two balls travel one ...
0
votes
4answers
217 views

Mass-Energy relation

Einstein mass- energy relation states $E=mc^2$. It means if energy of a paricle increases then mass also increases or vice-versa. My question is that what is the actual meaning of the statement ...
4
votes
4answers
310 views

Relativistic mass and imaginary mass

The (relativistic) mass of an object measured by an observer in the $xyz$-frame is given by $$m = \frac{m_{rest}}{\sqrt{1 - \left(\frac{v}{c}\right)^2}}.$$ Mathematically $v$ could be greater than the ...
0
votes
1answer
167 views

Expression for the (relativistic) mass of the photon [closed]

I started learning a bit ahead from an old physics book, and they were discussing the photoelectric effect and after that Planck's hypotheses and energy quantas. The book said that the mass of a ...
1
vote
2answers
162 views

Why does the (relativistic) mass change & why?

I studied that when an object moves with a velocity comparable to the velocity of light the (relativistic) mass changes...but I am really eager to know how does this alteration take place....If anyone ...
0
votes
2answers
205 views

Does the potential energy related to a particle determines its rest mass?

Would it be possible to determine the rest mass of a particle by computing the potential energy related to the presence (existence) of the particle, if this potential energy could be determined ...
3
votes
4answers
346 views

Does $p=mc$ hold for photons?

Known that $E=hf$, $p=hf/c=h/\lambda$, then if $p=mc$, where $m$ is the (relativistic) mass, then $E=mc^2$ follows directly as an algebraic fact. Is this the case?
-1
votes
1answer
155 views

Clarification of rest mass

So I have only just been introduced to the concept of rest mass in Special Relativity. Do we assume that the rest mass of a fundamental particle is constant in all inertial reference frames? i.e. is ...
2
votes
2answers
186 views

Which new insight did $E=mc^2$ give us?

I had a special relativity course at university. Now I'm trying to extract what new insight $E=mc^2$ did give us. I mean that moving mass has/is energy (kinetic) not new. The energy merely changed ...
6
votes
3answers
508 views

Special Relativity and $E = mc^2$

I read somewhere that $E=mc^2$ shows that if something was to travel faster than the speed of light then they would have infinite mass and would have used infinite energy. How does the equation show ...
1
vote
1answer
110 views

How to explain relativistic mass with 2 moving systems, but not 3?

All the visual explanations I know work in some kind of "If you are moving relative to something A, while inside A something is moving, the stuff in A has to move slower due time dilation and ...
2
votes
1answer
205 views

What is the mass of a photon in non-empty spaces?

It is a well known result of the special theory of relativity that the photon has no rest mass, because for a particle to attain the speed of light, it must have zero rest-mass. I will not dig into ...
2
votes
1answer
105 views

Can non-free forces change the rest mass?

While reading Hobsen et al.'s "General Relativity: An Introduction for Physicists", I came across a bit confusing derivation. Multiplying the 4-force and 4-velocity, the following derivation can be ...
2
votes
1answer
165 views

Motion is relative, right? And most pop sci relativity explanations are somewhat incorrect?

On page 20 of A Brief History of Time: . . . all observers should measure the same speed of light, no matter how fast they are moving. But in an observer's frame of reference, they're actually ...
3
votes
5answers
588 views

Does $E$ really equal $mc^2$?

I'm currently in a debate with a co-worker. If mass is sped up to the speed of light, does the mass become energy?
3
votes
2answers
557 views

Does a photon see a 0-D universe?

For a massless particle the spacetime interval between its point of emission and point of absorption is zero: the two points coincide. From the vantage point of such a particle space-time has reduced ...
3
votes
1answer
383 views

How does a particle of light reach the max speed of light? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: How can a photon have no mass and still travel at the speed of light? First of all I am not a professional physicist. I was curious as to how a particle of light can ...
-2
votes
6answers
1k views

What does it mean to say that mass “approaches infinity”?

What does it mean to say that mass "approaches infinity"? I have read that mass of a body increases with the speed and when the body reaches the speed of light, the mass becomes infinity. What ...
3
votes
2answers
3k views

Do light and sound waves have mass

I have been reading Hawking's 'A Brief History of Time' and it has gotten me thinking about Einstein's theory of relativity, in that it assumes that an object must have infinite mass if it is to be ...
16
votes
7answers
10k views

How can a photon have no mass and still travel at the speed of light?

I've read a number of the helpful Q&As on photons that mention the mass/mass-less issue. Do I understand correctly that the idea of mass-less (a rest mass of 0) may be just a convention to make ...
2
votes
2answers
1k views

Mass of particle near light speed in a medium

I am trying to get a common understanding from these two previous questions: Why does the mass of an object increase when its speed approaches that of light? What happens if light/particles exceeded ...
19
votes
5answers
2k views

Do photons gain mass when they travel through glass?

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that photons slow down when travelling through glass. Does this mean they gain mass? Otherwise, what happens to extra kinetic energy? I understand now ...
7
votes
9answers
6k views

Why does the mass of an object increase when its speed approaches that of light?

I'm reading Nano: The Essentials by T. Pradeep and I came upon this statement in the section explaining the basics of scanning electron microscopy. However, the equation breaks down when the ...