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Projectiles, pendula, and special relativity

Richard H. Price
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Abstract

The kind of flat-earth gravity used in introductory physics appears in an accelerated reference system in special relativity. From this viewpoint, we work out the special relativistic description of a ballistic projectile and a simple pendulum, two examples of simple motion driven by earth-surface gravity. The analysis uses only the basic mathematical tools of special relativity typical of a first-year university course.

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Richard H. Price. 2005-01-08. Projectiles, pendula, and special relativity. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1862632

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