28.1

Events and Inertial Reference Frames

In the theory of special relativity, an event, such as the launching of the space shuttle in Figure 28-1, is a physical “happening” that occurs at a certain place and time. In this drawing two observers are watching the lift-off, one standing on the earth and one in an airplane that is flying at a constant velocity relative to the earth. To record the event, each observer uses a reference frame that consists of a set of x, y, z axes (called a coordinate system) and a clock. The coordinate systems are used to establish where the event occurs, and the clocks to specify when. Each observer is at rest relative to his own reference frame. However, the earth-based observer and the airborne observer are moving relative to each other and so are their respective reference frames.

Figure 28-1 Using an earth-based reference frame, an observer standing on the earth records the location and time of an event (the space shuttle lift-off). Likewise, an observer in the airplane uses a plane-based reference frame to describe the event.

The theory of special relativity deals with a “special” kind of reference frame, called an inertial reference frame. As Section 4.2 discusses, an inertial reference frame is one in which Newton’s law of inertia is valid. That is, if the net force acting on a body is zero, the body either remains at rest or moves at a constant velocity. In other words, the acceleration of such a body is zero when measured in an inertial reference frame. Rotating and otherwise accelerating reference frames are not inertial reference frames. The earth-based reference frame in Figure 28-1 is not quite an inertial frame because it is subjected to centripetal accelerations as the earth spins on its axis and revolves around the sun. In most situations, however, the effects of these accelerations are small, and we can neglect them. To the extent that the earth-based reference frame is an inertial frame, so is the plane-based reference frame, because the plane moves at a constant velocity relative to the earth. The next section discusses why inertial reference frames are important in relativity.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.