Physics 197 Lecture 35: Four-Momentum
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Physics 197 Full Course Notes
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Conservation of newtonian momentum vector p = m(vector v) violates the principle of relativity. Four-momentum is a natural relativistic rede nition of momentum. Conservation of four-momentum is consistent with the principle of relativity. The conserved fourth component of four-momentum is energy. An object"s four-momentum p is a four-dimensional vector quantity (a four-vector) whose four components in a given inertial reference frame are: [pt, px, py, pz] = [m(dt/d ), m(dx/d ), m(dy/d ), m(dz/d ): purpose: this equation de nes (in a given inertial reference frame) the components. Because d = [(1- v)^2]^1/2dt, the spacial components of p are indistinguishable from the components of newtonian momentum vector p when the particle"s speed v << 1. Sunday, november 29, 2015: purpose: this equation describes how to calculate the components [pt", px", py", pz"] of a particle"s four-momentum in the other frame, given its components [pt, px, py,
