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luigirovatti's avatar

Is it correct the following example of the relationship between classical mechanics and modern physics?

Asked by luigirovatti (2950points) September 17th, 2020

Strictly speaking, you can’t combine velocities with (v1 + v2). (v1 + v2) / (1 + (v1 * v2) / c^2)
is the actual equation. Of course, the sort of velocities we encounter in day-to-day life don’t come close to c2, which is the speed of light squared. That means that (1 + (v1 * v2) / c2).
Since that would mean dividing by 1, it’s usually okay to just skip that step and use (v1 + v2). In most situation it works, even if it’s not technically correct. Have I missed anything?

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2 Answers

luigirovatti's avatar

Sorry for the mistake, but, evidently, “c^2”
is “c2”.

LostInParadise's avatar

Yes that is a correct interpretation. One of the requirements for a new theory is that it has to account for the experimental results of the current theory. Within the measurement accuracy at the time that the old experiments were run, the results agreed with classical mechanics.

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