Rigid body motion in special relativity

Abstract

We study the acceleration and collisions of rigid bodies in special relativity. After a brief historical review, we give a physical definition of the term `rigid body' in relativistic straight line motion. We show that the definition of `rigid body' in relativity differs from the usual classical definition, so there is no difficulty in dealing with rigid bodies in relativistic motion. We then describe: 1. The motion of a rigid body undergoing constant acceleration to a given velocity. 2. The acceleration of a rigid body due to an applied impulse. 3. Collisions between rigid bodies.