What is Relativistic: Definition and 1000 Discussions

Relativistic quantum chemistry combines relativistic mechanics with quantum chemistry to calculate elemental properties and structure, especially for the heavier elements of the periodic table. A prominent example is the explanation of the color of gold: due to relativistic effects, it is not silvery like most other metals.The term relativistic effects was developed in light of the history of quantum mechanics. Initially quantum mechanics was developed without considering the theory of relativity. Relativistic effects are those discrepancies between values calculated by models that consider relativity and those that do not. Relativistic effects are important for the heavier elements with high atomic numbers. In the most common layout of the periodic table, these elements are shown in the lower area. Examples are the lanthanides and actinides.Relativistic effects in chemistry can be considered to be perturbations, or small corrections, to the non-relativistic theory of chemistry, which is developed from the solutions of the Schrödinger equation. These corrections affect the electrons differently depending on the electron speed compared to the speed of light. Relativistic effects are more prominent in heavy elements because only in these elements do electrons attain sufficient speeds for the elements to have properties that differ from what non-relativistic chemistry predicts.

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  1. S

    How Does Relativistic Force Affect the Movement and Speed of a Mass?

    Homework Statement a) A mass m starts at rest. Starting at t = 0 (measured in the lab frame), you apply a constant force f to it (lab frame). How long (in the lab frame) does it take for the mass to move a distance x (also measured in the lab frame)? Check that your answer makes sense in the...
  2. F

    Relativistic transverse doppler shift

    Hi, I was looking up the formula for this on wikipedia and it said that the frequency shift is: \frac{\sqrt{1 - v^2/c^2}}{1+\frac{v}{c}\cos{\theta}} In the case where the the emitter is directly above the observer when the photon arrives it says it simplifies to: \gamma =...
  3. tomwilliam2

    Derivation of relativistic E_kin

    In my textbook there is a derivation of relativistic kinetic energy starting from an integral of the force applied over the distance required to take the particle's speed from 0 to v. There's one stage of the derivation I don't understand on mathematical grounds, which is going from: $$E_k =...
  4. J

    Forces in relativistic rolling motion

    Let's tie a rope on an object, then we swing the object around in a circle, then we start running forwards while continuing the swinging. (All velocities are relativistic) An assistant takes lot of pictures of us doing this stunt. Then finally we study the pictures. We will notice that...
  5. F

    Does light experience relativistic effects?

    I have heard people argue that light doesn't experience time or space. That it is everywhere at once. I suppose that they base this on the relativistic idea that time and space are warped by speed, and that the closer an object gets to C, the more time slows down and space contracts relative to...
  6. B

    Relating Light Angles in a High-Speed Reference Frame

    Homework Statement A space station observes a high-speed rocket passing by at speed β c in the +x direction. The rocket suddenly emits a light ray from a powerful laser. According to the space station, the light ray was emitted at an angle of θ with respect to the +x-axis. However, the...
  7. J

    Relativistic Momentum of a photon

    [b]1. An elementary particle of mass M completely absorbs a photon, after which its mass is 1.01M. (a) What was the energy of the incoming photon? (b) Why is that energy greater than 0.01Mc2? Homework Equations p (photon) = E/c p (particle) = γmv p(i) = p(f) Ek = γmc^2 -mc^2...
  8. S

    Non-parallel Relativistic Velocity Addition

    Homework Statement (d) A spaceship moves with velocity (4/5)c relative to Earth. The astronaut throws his empty beer bottle out the window with velocity (3/5)c relative to the ship in the sideways direction. What is the velocity of the bottle (magnitude and direction) relative to the Earth (i)...
  9. D

    How Does Relativity Affect Bullet Travel Time in a Moving Rocket?

    Homework Statement A rocket of rest length 100 meters is moving at .6c relative to Earth and contains an astronaut at the tail end of the ship. The astronaut fires a bullet toward the front of the ship. The velocity of the bullet relative to the astronaut is 0.8c. How much time does it take the...
  10. Y

    Conservation of relativistic angular momentum

    Is several other threads some arguments depend on what circumstances angular momentum is conserved in relativity and that is what I would like to establish here. This Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativistic_angular_momentum describes relativistic angular momentum as being...
  11. K

    Exploring Relativistic Energy: Solving λmu and d(λmu) Equations"

    Homework Statement I am trying to grasp this stuff, but it is getting late and my mind is noodeling. Can I have some help on this? show that d(λmu) = m(1-(u^2/c^2)^(-3/2) du thanks! Homework Equations λ = 1/√(1-(u^2/c^2)) The Attempt at a Solution I have attacked this through...
  12. Dilatino

    How is the deficit angle due to a relativistic cosmic string derived?

    The presence of a cosmic string does not lead to gravitational attraction of a particle placed some distance away from it. But it affects the geometry of planes orthogonal to the cosmic string, such that the circumference of a circle traced out when moving around it at a distance r is given by...
  13. J

    Is Relativistic Electromagnetism Affecting a Test Charge Above a Moving Wire?

    I have recently come across relativistic electromagnetism so I am very new to it. The situation described to me was one where a positive test charge moves above a wire with a velocity V which matches the current in the wire in both magnitude and direction. Apparently, from the test charge's...
  14. PsychonautQQ

    Comparing relativistic momentum to classical

    EDIT: Okay I don't expect an answer for this because of my crappy attempt at LaTex, i'll work on making it look prettier sorry Homework Statement If the kinetic energy of a particle is equal to twice its rest energy, what percentage error is made by using p = mu for the magnitude of its...
  15. J

    Relativistic Energy question

    Hi, I`ve been dabbling in some basic special relativity and when your deriving the famous equation E = mc^2 you get to this equation just before it. KE = mc^2/sqrt1-v^2/c^2 - mc^2 ie KE = Etotal - Erest but when I try assign a mass and velocity of one i get a kinetic energy of...
  16. S

    How much energy does it take to reach relativistic speeds?

    I'm trying to make a chart that displays how much energy it takes a rocket with x mass to reach Y factors of relativistic change but do not know how to build the equation that will give me such information. Can anyone help me with this?
  17. L

    Solving a Relativistic Momentum Problem with Differential Equations

    I've been trying to work on differential equations using several books and one of the first exercise questions I encountered already has me stuck. The momentum p of an electron at speed v near the speed c of light increases according to the formula p=mv/√(1-v^2/c^2), where m is a constant...
  18. Solarmew

    Is the Relativistic Doppler Shift Formula Correctly Applied in this Problem?

    I was just wondering if this problem is right and I'm missing something or ... http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~ryden/ast143/ps3_soln.pdf Cuz I'm reading the GRE book and it says here to use the relativistic Doppler shift formula. So the problem in the link would need to be solved like...
  19. P

    Relativistic corrections to classical physics formulae

    How are classical formulas in physics (such as p = mv, or kinetic energy, or maxwell distribution of speeds) treated with the appropriate relativistic correction/modification? Is it done by using the Lorentz transformation equations? Could anyone give me a few examples of relativistic...
  20. C

    Relativistic Treatment of Core Electrons (DFT)

    I realize this is something I should probably know intuitively, but why are core states (generally) treated relativistically in density functional calculations? What exactly makes these relativistic bound states rather than non-relativistic? I think this is some basic physics I'm forgetting.
  21. M

    Relativistic Effects of a Black Hole

    So, I was thinking about this the other day. If we watch material approaching near the event horizon of a black hole get scattered all over the place, then would the opposite be seen for an observer falling into a black hole? Instead of us seeing them scattered all over the place, would they see...
  22. M

    Relativistic Energy Derivation math problem

    Hey, In a derivation of relativistic energy (in Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 5th edition, Serway and Beichner) they use a method of integration by substitution: Given that F=\frac{dp}{dt} and relativistic momentum is given by p=\frac{mv}{\sqrt(1-(v^2/c^2))} W=∫F...
  23. P

    Relativistic speed of an electron

    Homework Statement Electrons are accelerated by a potential difference of 0.10 MV. Determine: a) The mass an accelerated electron b) The velocity of an accelerated electron The mass of the electron has been successful determined, which I give here. I was doing wrong when I was...
  24. 7

    Manipulating a formula for a relativistic Doppeler shift

    Homework Statement The spaceship is approaching Earth with a speed ##\scriptsize 0.6c## under an angle of ##\scriptsize 30^\circ##. What frequency does an observer on Earth measure if spaceship is sending frequency ##\scriptsize 1.00\cdot10^9Hz##. Homework Equations Lets say we take the...
  25. C

    Notation for time in a relativistic graph

    I was just curious as a possible confusion that might occur when graphing a v vs t Graph. Because velocity is a function of time, but time is also dependant on velocity, so how would we denote this on a graph? Hope i got my point across, thanks!
  26. P

    Dark matter and dark energy as a relativistic mass?

    According to the theory of relativity, the universe should expand from the center (place of Big Bang) with a maximum possible radial speed close to the speed of light c. So, the galaxies and intergalactic matter moves with a radial speed close to the speed of light too. For instance, this allows...
  27. T

    Is the Sun invisible at relativistic speeds? Part II

    ^^This is how the Sun would look from a distance of 4 light-years. If you add all the relativistic effects and stuff, wouldn't the Sun disappear from the visible spectrum? I was told that from a mathematical point of view, it is correct to say that some visible photons would still reach you, but...
  28. G

    Relativistic Magnetic Field of a moving charge

    I believe this delves into relativistic physics so I put this here. If I am incorrect I apologize. I've been learning about magnetic fields and how they are generated by moving charges. If a charge is moving at some arbitrary speed it generates a magnetic field. This is what I've been taught...
  29. D

    What is a joule, when you calculate relativistic energy?

    Energy is E=γmc^2, but when I calculate this, will my result be in joules? I am unsure what the units are when I calculate it, and I keep hearing people saying joules. Also, what is PJ and MJ?
  30. S

    Relativistic Quantum Mechanics

    the problem is on page 26 of "relativistic quantum mechanics and field theory" by Franz Gross. consider the lagrangian density: L=(1/2)[(∂ψ/∂t)^2 -(∂ψ/∂z)^2 -m^2ψ^2] a) find the momentum conjugate. b) find the equation of motion for the fields and the solution. use periodic boundary...
  31. O

    Why Does Integrating Relativistic Kinetic Energy Lead to Different Results?

    I am doing the integral DK = ∫pdv = mv/(√1-v2/c2)dv , in the same way as they do the ∫Fds = ∫mvdv if you separate the integrals. Where is my mistake and istead of (γ-1)mc2 I get -mc2/γ . I know that I am mistaken, I did see some equations but I don't get the 'theoretical' part.
  32. T

    Is the Sun invisible at relativistic speeds?

    At which speed does the Sun disappear from the visible part of the spectrum if I were to travel towards it at high speed? Let's assume there are no other stars in the visible universe and I'm a few light-years away.
  33. C

    Magnetic Fields with Relativistic Motion of Electron

    Homework Statement There is a magnetic field given by the equation \overrightarrow{B}=B_{0} \hat{x} \sin\left(2\pi z/L\right). If there is a 10^7 eV electron going in the \hat{z} direction (moving at a relativistic velocity), a mag. field strength of 0.1T, and a mag. period of 0.01m, what...
  34. G

    Feynman's vs wiki's relativistic resultant

    In Feynman Lectures on Physics vol 2 pg.13.6-13.10 develops the equations for a current carrying wire and a moving charge ( negative test charge) with the same velocity as the electrons in the current. He looks at this situation from two reference frames, 1) the wire still and test charge and...
  35. S

    Interpret Relativistic Momentum: Facts & Popular Opinion

    I understood the derivation of relativistic momentum, but I am uncertain of how to exactly interpret it. One could interpret the arrangement of terms to be relativistic mass times velocity, and this appears to be in agreement with data from particle accelerators (or so I have been led to...
  36. C

    Magnetic field relativistic effect

    Hi Forum, It is said that the Magnetic field is a relativistic effect. I went to the Feynman lectures on Physics and found an example based on the force a charged has when moving at speed v next to a conductor with a current density J. I understand that the framework at rest uses a magnetic...
  37. U

    Relativistic collisions - different frames, threshold energy

    Homework Statement (a) Show that E2 - p2c2 is a Lorentz invariant, where E is the total energy, p is the momentum, c is speed of light. (b) In the lab frame, an utlra-relativistic electron with γ = 100 collides head-on with a photon of energy E. Find the threshold energy E required to...
  38. S

    Calculating Relativistic Mass of Rotating Object

    Hi. I need to find the mass (relativistic mass?) Of an object in rotation. Say I have a string with a small rock tied to the end. The relevant variables are: A) The circumference of the weights path. B) The weight of the rock itself. C) The revolutions per minute that B...
  39. michael879

    Are classical models of electrons with spin limited by the speed of light?

    Ok so I have two very different questions, both closely tied to the concept of relativistic angular momentum. Question #1: Why do people claim there is a minimum radius for a classical model of electrons with spin? The typical argument is that if the radius were to fall below some minimum...
  40. P

    Rutherford Scattering, relativistic

    Homework Statement Asked to calculate the relativistic correction, to the differential scattering cross section which is given by the equation below in terms of E, E0 and θ where E0= .511 MeV. with 100MeV electrons from an Au nuclei at certain angles θ. Homework Equations Relativistic...
  41. V

    Equation of motion in tensorial form (relativistic)

    Homework Statement How does one solve the tensor differential equation for the relativistic motion of a partilcle of charge e and mass m, with 4-momentum p^a and electromagnetic field tensor F_{ab} of a constant magetic field \vec B perpendicular to the plane of motion...
  42. Z

    How Long Does It Take for One Rocket to Pass Another at Relativistic Speeds?

    I do have a specific example/problem, but my actual question is more so conceptual (I'm sure that seeing someone confused by relativity is a first around here!). The problem: Two rockets are each 1000m long in their rest frame. Rocket Orion, traveling at 0.900c relative to the earth, is...
  43. T

    Radiated energy by decelerating (relativistic) point charge

    Homework Statement A point charge q is moving relativistically with constant speed ##\beta## along the x-axis. At t = 0 a constant decelerating force F is applied in opposite direction of its velocity. If the charge stops after traveling a distance d, find the total radiated energy...
  44. T

    Conservation of Relativistic energy and momentum

    I was reading through this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-momentum#Conservation_of_four-momentum It says "The conservation of the four-momentum yields two conservation laws for "classical" quantities: The total energy E = P0c is conserved. The classical three-momentum p is...
  45. E

    Deriving Relations in Relativistic Mechanics: dE/dt = dm/dt?

    I am still trying to derive all the relations in relativistic mechanics, and have narrowed one of my problems down to the following. If E = m (c=1), then shouldn't dE/dt = dm/dt ? The left side of that equation is the work done on the particle per unit time, or the velocity vector -dot- force...
  46. Z

    Relativistic Kinematics conservation of energy

    Homework Statement A particle with rest mass m_{0} and kinetic energy 3m_{0}c^{2} makes a completely inelastic collision with a stationary particle of rest mass 2m_{0}. What are the velocity and rest mass of the composite particle? Homework Equations T = (\gamma - 1)m_{0}c^{2} = E -...
  47. A

    Magnetic Fields of a Relativistic Charged Particle

    Where can I find a picture of the magnetic field lines produced by a charged particle moving near the speed of light? Is there a formula for the strength of B and direction of field lines as v --> c? Does this equation reduce to Ampere's right hand rule for a moving charge's ability to create...
  48. R

    Relativistic Momentum: 880kg Spacecraft at 1/2 C

    Hi everyone so I have a couple of questions I would like to get some help on. The first one is as follows: A 880-kg spacecraft is traveling forward at 1/2 the speed of light. What is the relativistic momentum? I know the equations I am just having trouble plugging the numbers in I think. Thanks
  49. D

    Conceptual portion of Relativistic Jets Problem

    1. The full problem statement, all variables and given/known data The problem can be found http://www.astro.umd.edu/~chris/Teaching/ASTR498E_Spring_2006/homework5.pdfif any of my description is lacking. I have solved successfully part a), most of b), and c) for the problem, but part d)...
  50. E

    Relativistic Forces: Confirm Resnick's Results?

    Am working my way through relativistic mechanics, and one force transform (Fx) I derive has an extra factor in one term. Of the many textbooks I have, the only one that presents those equations is Resnick – Introduction to Special Relativity. And it doesn’t look like even he derived them, but...
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