Lorentz_factor
- plasmapy.formulary.relativity.Lorentz_factor(V: Unit('m / s'))[source]
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 – If
V
is not aQuantity
and cannot be converted into aQuantity
.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
\[γ = \frac{1}{\sqrt{1-\frac{V^2}{c^2}}}\]The Lorentz factor is approximately one for sub-relativistic velocities, and \(γ → ∞\) as the velocity approaches the speed of light.
Examples
>>> import astropy.units as u >>> velocity = 1.4e8 * u.m / u.s >>> Lorentz_factor(velocity) 1.130885603948959 >>> Lorentz_factor(299792458 * u.m / u.s) inf