A famous relation in physics relates ‘moving mass m to the ‘rest mass’ m0m0 of a particle in terms of its speed v and the speed of light, c. (This relation first arose as a consequence of special relativity due to Albert Einstein). A boy recalls the relation almost correctly but forgets where to put the constant c. He writes :

m=m0(1-v2)1/2m=m0(1v2)1/2 .

Guess where to put the missing c.

Given the relation,

m = m(1 - v2)1/2m = m(1  v2)1/2

Dimension of m=[M1L0T0]m=[M1L0T0]

Dimension of m0=[M1L0T0]m0=[M1L0T0]

Dimension of v=[M0L1T1]v=[M0L1T1]

Dimension of

v2=[M0L2T2]v2=[M0L2T2]

Dimension of c=[M0L1T1]c=[M0L1T1]

The given formula will be dimensionally correct only when the dimension of L.H.S is the same as that of R.H.S.

This is only possible when the factor, (1  v2)1/2(1  v2)1/2 is dimensionless i.e., (1 – v2v2) is dimensionless. This is only possible if v2v2 is divided by c2c2. Hence, the correct relation is-

m = m0(1 - v2c2)1/2m = m0(1  v2c2)1/2