Learning Hub/Simulation Registry/Physics/HL/Chapter 6

Physics HL

Chapter 6: Relativity

Build special relativity from reference frames and Einstein's postulates, then apply Lorentz transformations, time dilation, length contraction, velocity addition, and spacetime diagrams to interpret real measurements.

1 simulation entries

Simulation: Relativity Clock Lab

Vary beta = v/c and compare proper-time and coordinate-time intervals through the gamma factor.

Appears in: 6.2 Time Dilation and Length Contraction, 6.3 Velocity Addition and Simultaneity, 6.4 Spacetime Diagrams and Causality

Relativity Clock + Spacetime Lab

γ

1.4003

v

0.700 c

v (m/s)

2.099e+8

t from τ

14.00 s

If the ship measures τ = 10.0 s, the lab measures t = γτ = 14.00 s. If the lab measures t = 10.0 s, ship proper time is τ = t/γ = 7.14 s.

Minkowski diagram (x, ct)

light conect′ axis (ship worldline)x′ axissimultaneous in Ssimultaneous in S′A (origin event)B (transformed event)xct

This diagram is coordinate-based: the same event pair gets different simultaneity slices in S and S′, while light-cone boundaries preserve causal structure.