Answer by J.G. for Normalization of the action in Special Relativity
Since action has the units of angular momentum, the proportionality constant needs the units of energy by dimensional analysis. It must also be Lorentz-invariant, so is $mc^2$ times some real number....
View ArticleAnswer by Moonraker for Normalization of the action in Special Relativity
The equation you mention is the action of a single point particle. $$S =-mc^2\int d\tau$$The unit of action is energy multiplied by time, in the present case the rest energy which corresponds to the...
View ArticleAnswer by Kasper for Normalization of the action in Special Relativity
For a single particle, it does not matter what prefactor you use, the equations of motion and everything else stays the same. The factors only start to matter when you couple different systems to each...
View ArticleAnswer by Cryo for Normalization of the action in Special Relativity
I prefer to think like this. Inertial observer ($X$) is at rest in his/hers reference frame. The world-line of $X$ is the longest possible route between any two events. This follows since, in its...
View ArticleNormalization of the action in Special Relativity
The action for a massive point particle in Special Relativity is given as$$A =-mc^2\int d\tau,$$Where $\tau$ represents the proper time, and $m$ represents the (rest) mass. From what I could...
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