Term
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Definition
| A hypothetical medium. It was theorized that light traveled through this medium at a speed of c (3.00 x 10^8 m/s) relative to the ether just as sound waves travel through air. |
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Term
| Michelson and Morley experiment and ether |
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Definition
| Constructed a set up where two beams of light move perpedicularly. Believed that if the ether theory were true, the light moving into the ether wind would move more slowly so it would be delayed in bouncing back to the receiver. Experiment showed no delay so ether idea rejected. |
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Term
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Definition
| Clocks are defined as synchronized when c(tsubb - tsuba) is equal to the distance between the clocks. |
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Term
| Using light to synchronize clocks |
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Definition
| Send out a flash of light with the assumption that it will travel at c. Set a clock with a known distance to the time you know it must read when a beam of light moving at c hits it. |
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Term
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Definition
| the distance that light travels in 1 s of time |
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Term
| If clock A and clock B are 7.3 light-seconds apart in an inertial reference frame and a light flash leaves clock A when it reads tsuba=4.3 s, what time with the flash arrive at clock B if the two clocks are synchronized? |
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Definition
| tsubb= (4.3 + 7.3)s =11.6 s |
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Term
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Definition
| Two clocks in an inertial reference frame are defined to be synchronized if the time interval (in s) registered by teh clocks for a light flash to travel between them is equal to their separation in s. |
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Term
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Definition
| The set of all events occurring along the path of a particle. |
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Term
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Definition
| tsube=.5(tsubb + tsuba); xsube= .5(tsubb - tsuba) |
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