Warm-Up Exercise 41

Due 12:15 pm, Mon 3 Dec 2012

Physics 123, Fall 2012

Reading assignment: 39.7-39.9

What is the maximum momentum that a particle with mass m can have?

There is no maximum! Momentum is gamma*m*v, and gamma approaches infinity as the velocity approaches the speed of light.

I often call "E=mc2" the most misquoted equation in history. Why might that be?

Because E does *not* equal mc^2. E = *gamma* times mc^2. See Eqn 39.26 (8th edition). The quantity mc^2 is only the rest energy.

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