Name(s):
In relativistic dynamics, the kinetic energy is defined as the
difference between the total energy and the rest energy .
An electron is given a kinetic energy of 1MeV.
Calculate the momentum of an electron with this energy using
the relativistic energy equation. The effective mass m of a particle
with total energy E is calculated from
. Calculate m for a
1MeV electron. The usual definition of momentum can then be used to
calculate the speed of the electron using the effective mass instead of
the rest mass.
For comparison, use the usual equations of classical mechanics to calculate the speed. Do the two theories give similar results?