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A locomotive has to lose stem (water mass) in order to move?
As well as enrgy loss to the suroundings(per laws of thermodynamics)
So which laws are realistic ;velocity increase causing mass increase as per Einsteins Mass formula; Or the thermodynamics mass loss formula?

2006-08-25 03:29:53 · 6 answers · asked by goring 6 in Science & Mathematics Physics

If Ihave a wet sponge and I throw it so it moves at the quasi-speed of light ,Iwould losses all the water mass very quickly. The mas of water in the sponge would not have increased?

2006-08-25 03:46:56 · update #1

6 answers

No. People misinterprets Einsteins laws. His theory is not valid when the speeds of the object is very high. So they get wrong answers when they apply at high speeds. Mass can not increase or decrease.
The second case
In a rocket the weight of the rocket is reducing. That is not due to speed. That is due to the way the rocket produces the thrust by throwing mass away. But the free falling body gets the speed by not throwing anything. SO the reduction in mass is not attributed to the increase in speed. Increase in speed is a by product in some cases because the of the energy conversion.

2006-08-25 03:32:45 · answer #1 · answered by Dr M 5 · 0 0

It becomes a comparison of the efficiency of your energy transfer to the relativistic coefficient of 1/sqrt(1-v^2/c^2)

Also, are we talking about a closed system in space or something touching the earth. Now, it becomes a consideration of the closed system. The locomotive sitting on the tracks is able to push itself forward and therefore the earth itself is part of the total system. Also, your example of the steam escaping as part of the mass loss isn't a good example because there are closed steam systems. The steam could be trapped and condensed and reused. In fact, if you trapped all the gasses from the combustion, there is no mass loss. Again, this is because the train can push against the earth.

In fact, for a totally closed system, like a space ship in deep space, total mass is conserved and the velocity of the center of mass never changes. The only way that one part of the ship (like the control module) can move is by pushing against other parts like the fuel and expendable containers. So, in one sense, the control module has given up the mass of the fuel, however, in the true sense of the closed system, the spent fuel is still part of the original ship and it is being pushed in one direction so that the control module can be accelerated in the other direction.

Now, will there be energy loss to the surroundings? Yes. The combustion that pushes the spent fuel out the back is not 100% efficient and some of the energy of combustion will be released as heat. The resulting total kinetic energy of the closed system plus the heat lost to the surroundings will be equal to the potential energy of the fuel before combustion. However, there is no annihilation of matter taking place so I do not understand the part of your question that implies that there must be a mass loss.

2006-08-25 03:57:17 · answer #2 · answered by tbolling2 4 · 0 0

here both the laws are applicable. but the thing worth noticing in the relativistic laws is that they only attain true significance when the velocity is very high(near the speed of light). bcoz the locomotive cannot move with such high speeds, the mass increase due to relativistic effects can be neglected.

2006-08-25 03:35:10 · answer #3 · answered by pranav 2 · 0 0

Only when the mass travels at the speed of light

2006-08-25 03:33:52 · answer #4 · answered by Ω Nookey™ 7 · 0 0

Considering the locomotive and its surrroundings in a closed system, the total mass and energy will be conserved.

2006-08-25 03:48:19 · answer #5 · answered by Pearlsawme 7 · 0 0

locomotives do not run on steam anymore.So you do not need a formula.If you did it would be S=McdeltaT and MS=wind restistance....this is the formula for working out heat loss and speed.I rem' it from school.Also the loco wouldnt lose mass either lol
Good luck with that.

2006-08-25 03:39:56 · answer #6 · answered by Mark ABC 2 · 0 0

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