In an atomic clock there are approximately 9.193 × 109oscillations of the specified light emitted by cesium-133 atoms. The text
describes the typically accuracy of atomic clocks in terms of two atomic clocks differing by only one second in 6000 years. Assume one of the clocks gains one second in six thousand years, approximately what is the change in the number of oscillations of the light each second?
The momentum of an object is equal to the product of its mass and its velocity.
Explanation:
Consider an object of mass travelling at a velocity . The momentum of this object would be:
.
For the law of conservation of momentum, consider two objects: object and object . Assume that these two objects collided with each other.
Let and denote the mass of the two objects.
Let and denote the velocity of the two object right before the interaction.
Let and denote the velocity of the two objects right after the interaction.
The momentum of the two objects right before the collision would be and , respectively.
The momentum of the two objects right after the collision would be and , respectively.
The sum of the momentum of the two objects would be:
right before the collision, and
right after the collision.
Assume that the system of these two objects is isolated. By the law of conservation of momentum, the sum of the momentum of these two objects should be the same before and after the collision. That is: