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Definition of the Lorentz factor γ. The Lorentz factor or Lorentz term (also known as the gamma factor [1]) is a dimensionless quantity expressing how much the measurements of time, length, and other physical properties change for an object while it moves. The expression appears in several equations in special relativity, and it arises in ...
where v is the relative velocity between frames in the x-direction, c is the speed of light, and = (lowercase gamma) is the Lorentz factor. Here, v is the parameter of the transformation, for a given boost it is a constant number, but can take a continuous range of values.
Lorentz considered local time not to be "real"; rather, it represented an ad hoc change of variable. [9]: 51, 80 Impressed by Lorentz's "most ingenious idea", Poincaré saw more in local time than a mere mathematical trick. It represented the actual time that would be shown on a moving observer's clocks.
The prime examples of such four-vectors are the four-position and four-momentum of a particle, and for fields the electromagnetic tensor and stress–energy tensor. The fact that these objects transform according to the Lorentz transformation is what mathematically defines them as vectors and tensors; see tensor for a definition.
In physics and mathematics, the Lorentz group is the group of all Lorentz transformations of Minkowski spacetime, the classical and quantum setting for all (non-gravitational) physical phenomena. The Lorentz group is named for the Dutch physicist Hendrik Lorentz. For example, the following laws, equations, and theories respect Lorentz symmetry:
In this example the time measured in the frame on the vehicle, t, is known as the proper time. The proper time between two events - such as the event of light being emitted on the vehicle and the event of light being received on the vehicle - is the time between the two events in a frame where the events occur at the same location.
is called the Lorentz factor and c is the speed of light in free space. Lorentz factor (γ) is the same in both systems. The inverse transformations are the same except for the substitution v → −v. An equivalent, alternative expression is: [3]
The total energy can also be approximated as = where = is the Lorentz invariant momentum. This can result from holding the mass fixed and increasing the kinetic energy to very large values or by holding the energy E fixed and shrinking the mass m to very small values which also imply a very large γ {\displaystyle \gamma } .