Module 7 | The nature of light
Content 4: Light and special relativity
Lesson 1 | Relative simultaneity
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analyse and evaluate the evidence confirming or denying Einstein’s two postulates:
– the speed of light in a vacuum is an absolute constant
– all inertial frames of reference are equivalent (ACSPH131)
Lesson 2 | The consequences of relativistic travel
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investigate the evidence, from Einstein’s thought experiments and subsequent experimental validation, for time dilation () and length contraction (), and analyse quantitatively situations in which these are observed, for example:
– observations of cosmic-origin muons at the Earth’s surface
– atomic clocks (Hafele–Keating experiment)
– evidence from particle accelerators
– evidence from cosmological studies -
describe the consequences and applications of relativistic momentum with reference to:
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– the limitation on the maximum velocity of a particle imposed by special relativity (ACSPH133) -
use Einstein’s mass–energy equivalence relationship (E = mc2) to calculate the energy released by processes in which mass is converted to energy, for example: (ACSPH134)
– production of energy by the sun
– particle–antiparticle interactions, eg positron–electron annihilation
– combustion of conventional fuel