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Why does the laws of classical physics break down as you approach the speed of light?
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
At speeds near the speed of light, the formulae from the Theory of Relativity show that there are discrepancies with classical physics - for example, in adding velocities. These discprepancies have been verified by many experiments.
In theory the discrepancies arise at any speed, but if the speed is much lower than the speed of light, the difference between classical physics and the more accurate Theory of Relativity is so insignificant that it can be ignored, and you can safely use the simpler formulae of classical physics.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
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What is classical particle?
Classical physics refers to the branch of Physics whereby energy and matter are two very different concepts. It is usually based on the theory of electromagnetic radiation and the laws of motion.
Can light speed ships be invented?
You are referring to space ships, of course. The answer is: In theory, spacecraft could be designed that might approach the speed of light ('way, 'way in the future), but according to our best current understanding of actual (not theoretical) physics, it is impossible to build a spaceship that could equal the speed of light, as it would cease to exist if it did!
Why can't an object with mass travel at the speed of light?
According to Einstein's physics, it would require an infinite amount of energy to accelerate a mass to the speed of light. Unless we invent warp drive, it ain't gonna happen. ================================== My high school physics teacher explained that it's like pushing wagon up a hill. As you get closer to the speed of light, the wagon becomes a car. As you get even closer to the speed of light, the car becomes a truck, becomes a bus, etc. E=mc^2 Mass grows as you approach the speed of light. Therefore, more energy is required to move the ever increasing mass.
Why classical mechanics fails to explain Compton effect?
Classical mechanics assumes that light energy is a self-propagating, harmonic wave of electro-magnetic fields. It assumes that there is no limit to how small the energy in a light beam can be. QM, on the other hand, assumes there is a limit to how small the energy within a "chunk" of light can be, and that size is given by the frequency of the light times Planck's Constant. With this assumption, the formula for frequency shift of scattered photons as a function of angle can be easily explained. Using only classical mechanics, deriving the formula is impossible.
How turn light blinking faster?
A break in the ground wire on the light. More probably, a burned out bulb.
Can classical physics explain the photoelectric effect?
No. To explain the photoelectric effect, you have to think of light as a particle, not a wave. The fact that light can be both a wave and a particle is part of quantum mechanics, not classical physics.
Classical physics predicted that?
Any frequencies of light will produce the photoelectric effect
Define the major division and subdivision of physics?
Classical physics and (Quantum or modern) Physics Mechanics Thermodynamics Sound Light Optics Magnetism Electricity
What did classical physics predict would happen to the light given off by an object as its temperature increased?
The Energy of the light would increase from visible light into the ultraviolet range-APEX
According to classical physics what should happen as a filament in a light bulb gets hotter?
It should give off light of increasing energy- from red, to violet, and then into ultraviolet.This is because classical physics believed that the color of the light will correspond with the increasing of energy until it reaches ultraviolet. This is somewhat true as the color does correspond with the increasing energy but no matter how much energy there is, it will never reach ultraviolet. modern physics found that it will only stay white.
What are the failure of classical physics related to photoelectric effect?
The classical Physcis said that waves and particles are two different components. In Quantum Physics , we know that light ( or eletromagnetic waves ) demonstrates wave-particle duality. In this case, the light behaves as a collection of particles called photons. The energy of each photon is given by hv.
What is traditional physics and modern physics?
Traditional physics are more commonly called "Classical Physics" and it was created by the old giants of physicists like Newton and Galileo.Modern physics are the newer study of physics that was created by folk like Einstein and Schrodinger.The main difference is that classical physics deals in things that are relatively and easily handled by human size in terms of observation, forces and speeds. Things like the motion of baseballs, cars and planets.Modern physics deal in things that are small or fast. Time dilation due to traveling near the speed of light falls under modern physics as does the world of subatomic particles. The nature of electromagnetic radiation roughly follows the same wave math involved in classical physics, however, things get deeper when we begin to discuss the wave-particle duality of matter and light so it is more modern physics.
Classical physics CANNOT explain why?
There are many examples of what classical physics can not explain. (By classical physics we mean that which has its theoretical foundations before about 1900.) Quantum mechanics is absent from classical physics. Classical physics can not explain why atoms (positive nucleus attracted to surrounding electrons) is stable. Even the simplest atom, a hydrogen atom, would be unstable and the electron orbiting the proton would gradually radiate its energy and the orbit would decay. The photoelectric effect is an important historical example of the failure of classical physics. In that case, electromagnetic theory said that light was an electromagnetic wave. That was true enough but it does not account for the quantum nature of light and the characteristics that allow a photon to act like a discrete bundle of electromagnetic energy with properties like a particle. Virtually all of our understanding about the atomic structure and properties of matter depends on quantum mechanics, so the example of hydrogen is just symbolic of the need for modern physics for the entirety of our understanding about electronic properties of matter. One can choose to define classical physics to include relativity or not as one wishes, but it is fair to say that Newtonian mechanics does not explain relativistic mechanics. In particular, time dilation and length contraction are purely relativistic effects.
What is classical particle?
Classical physics refers to the branch of Physics whereby energy and matter are two very different concepts. It is usually based on the theory of electromagnetic radiation and the laws of motion.
What are the drawbacks of classical physics?
Only that it doesn't manage to explain as much as modern physics (quantum physics, and the Theory of Relativity). Please note that for many practical purposes, classical physics is entirely adequate. For example, when the speeds involved are much lower than the speed of light, you can simply add velocities, rather than use the more complicated Lorentz transformations.
What are the branches of modern physics?
The Branches of modern physics are mainly 2.1)Quantam Physics2)RelativityThere is also classical physics. as a bonus the branches of classical physics is mainly.1) Mechanics2) Electromagnetism3) Thermodynamics.P.S. In both modern and classical physics there are more than those branches given but these are like the main ones.There are seven branches of modern physics. These branches are quantum physics, relativistic physics, low-temperature physics, condensed matter physics, atomic and nuclear physics, solid-state physics, and plasma physics.
Why you need quantum mechanics or modern physics while classical physics existed already?
Because there were a couple of things observed that were inexplicable with classical physics, namely: Blackbody radiation - Radiated energy doesn't continually increase as the frequency of the radiation increases. Classically, this relationship is given by the Rayleigh-Jeans Law, however, this law goes to infinity as frequency goes to infinity. The Photoelectric Effect - The energy of electrons emitted from a surface when a light is shined on it had nothing to do with the light's intensity, just it's frequency. Quantizing electromagnetic energy was the only way to explain these phenomena.
