Lorentz_factor¶
-
plasmapy.formulary.
Lorentz_factor
(V: Unit(‘m / s’))¶ Return the Lorentz factor.
- Parameters
V (Quantity) – The velocity in units convertible to meters per second.
- Returns
gamma – The Lorentz factor associated with the inputted velocities.
- Return type
- Raises
TypeError – The
V
is not aQuantity
and cannot be converted into a ~astropy.units.Quantity.UnitConversionError – If the
V
is not in appropriate units.ValueError – If the magnitude of
V
is faster than the speed of light.
- Warns
~astropy.units.UnitsWarning – If units are not provided, SI units are assumed.
Notes
The Lorentz factor is a dimensionless number given by
\[\gamma = \frac{1}{\sqrt{1-\frac{V^2}{c^2}}}\]The Lorentz factor is approximately one for sub-relativistic velocities, and goes to infinity as the velocity approaches the speed of light.
Examples
>>> from astropy import units as u >>> velocity = 1.4e8 * u.m / u.s >>> Lorentz_factor(velocity) 1.130885603948959 >>> Lorentz_factor(299792458*u.m/u.s) inf