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The Lorentz FactorThe Lorentz factor was derived in the 1890s by Joseph Larmor and is named after mathematician and physicist Hendrik Lorentz. In 1905 Albert Einstein applied it in Special Relativity[2] to calculate the degree of time dilation, length contraction and relativistic mass of a moving object. It's general form is:
It is the "other half" of the e=mc2 equation we all know. It tells us how much of e=mc2. The factor is often referred to as gamma. A typical use is:
Equation 1: Relativistic Kinetic Energy Known Problems(a) The equation is well known to require the square root of a negative number for v > c. This can be compensated for by rotating the point of view or by multiplying by i, the imaginary square root of -1. Whether any of these methods of compensating actually match the physical universe is as yet unproven. (b) There is another limit in the Lorentz Factor equation that is not widely reported. This limit comes from (1- v2 / c2) and means that it is useful up to, but not including, v=c. Values for v >= c (at or beyond the speed of light) are out of scope of the equation. Any interpretations which predict infinities for v=c should be regarded as unreliable.
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