Projectiles, pendula, and special relativity
arXiv:gr-qc/0501023 · doi:10.1119/1.1862632
Abstract
The kind of flat-earth gravity used in introductory physics appears in an accelerated reference system in special relativity. From this viewpoint, we work out the special relativistic description of a ballistic projectile and a simple pendulum, two examples of simple motion driven by earth-surface gravity. The analysis uses only the basic mathematical tools of special relativity typical of a first-year university course.
9 pages, 5 figures; to appear in American Journal of Physics