6
votes
2answers
147 views

relativistic spaceship, CMB radiation and thermodynamics

Scenario: a spaceship is travelling at a high fraction of $c$. The interstellar gas and CMB radiation has blueshifted significantly and we are facing a possible melting of the front radiation shield! ...
1
vote
0answers
238 views

How equivalent are heat energy and work energy in connection with a spinning flywheel?

Let's say we have two identical spinning flywheels, that have arbitrary geometry, and are made of copper. Now we apply some heat energy at the center point of flywheel A, causing it to slow down a ...
6
votes
3answers
590 views

Is there a relativistic generalization of the Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution?

The Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution in 3D space is $$ f(v)dv = 4\pi \left(\frac{m}{2\pi k_B T}\right)^{3/2} v^2 \exp\left(-\frac{m v^2}{2k_B T}\right)dv$$ It gives the probability for a ...