Beta (velocity)
Encyclopedia
β in special relativity
is the speed of an object relative to the speed of light: β = v/c.
β is dimensionless and equal to the velocity in natural units
. Any expression which involves v, like the Lorentz factor
, can be rewritten using β instead.
Special relativity
Special relativity is the physical theory of measurement in an inertial frame of reference proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein in the paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies".It generalizes Galileo's...
is the speed of an object relative to the speed of light: β = v/c.
β is dimensionless and equal to the velocity in natural units
Natural units
In physics, natural units are physical units of measurement based only on universal physical constants. For example the elementary charge e is a natural unit of electric charge, or the speed of light c is a natural unit of speed...
. Any expression which involves v, like the Lorentz factor
Lorentz factor
The Lorentz factor or Lorentz term appears in several equations in special relativity, including time dilation, length contraction, and the relativistic mass formula. Because of its ubiquity, physicists generally represent it with the shorthand symbol γ . It gets its name from its earlier...
, can be rewritten using β instead.