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Speed is a scalar, being the magnitude of the velocity vector which in relativity is the four-velocity and in three-dimension Euclidean space a three-velocity. Speed is empirically measured as average speed, although current devices in common use can estimate speed over very small intervals and closely approximate instantaneous speed.
In this context, "speed of light" really refers to the speed supremum of information transmission or of the movement of ordinary (nonnegative mass) matter, locally, as in a classical vacuum. Thus, a more accurate description would refer to c 0 {\displaystyle c_{0}} rather than the speed of light per se.
The relative velocity of an object B relative to an observer A, denoted (also or ), is the velocity vector of B measured in the rest frame of A. The relative speed v B ∣ A = ‖ v B ∣ A ‖ {\displaystyle v_{B\mid A}=\|\mathbf {v} _{B\mid A}\|} is the vector norm of the relative velocity.
Its initial value is 1 (when v = 0); and as velocity approaches the speed of light (v → c) γ increases without bound (γ → ∞). α (Lorentz factor inverse) as a function of velocity—a circular arc. In the table below, the left-hand column shows speeds as different fractions of the speed of light (i.e. in units of c). The middle column ...
Log-log plot of γ (blue), v/c (cyan), and η (yellow) versus proper velocity w/c (i.e. momentum p/mc).Note that w/c is tracked by v/c at low speeds and by γ at high speeds. The dashed red curve is γ − 1 (kinetic energy K/mc 2), while the dashed magenta curve is the relativistic Doppler factor.
So relativistic energy and momentum significantly increase with speed, thus the speed of light cannot be reached by massive particles. In some relativity textbooks, the so-called "relativistic mass" = is used as well. However, this concept is considered disadvantageous by many authors, instead the expressions of relativistic energy and momentum ...
Relativistic rocket means any spacecraft that travels close enough to light speed for relativistic effects to become significant. The meaning of "significant" is a matter of context, but often a threshold velocity of 30% to 50% of the speed of light (0.3 c to 0.5 c ) is used.
In physics, relativistic mechanics refers to mechanics compatible with special relativity (SR) and general relativity (GR). It provides a non- quantum mechanical description of a system of particles, or of a fluid , in cases where the velocities of moving objects are comparable to the speed of light c .