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For a standard $N$ DOF system we can find the eigenfrequencies and eigenmodes of the system by setting up an eigenvalue problem in the form of $$ ([M]-\omega^{2}[K])\phi=0. $$

For a continuous structure, we can set up equations in some coordinate system and solve.

Consider a structure, such as a beam, vibrating near the speed of light. How can we factor this into our equations of motion?

Note 1: These equations of motion are obviously simplified because there's nothing in them stopping a velocity greater than the speed of light.

Note 2: For reference, the following is the Euler-Bernoulli Equations for a beam. I would consider the one of the simpler continuous cases and may be a good starting point.

$$ EI\frac{\partial^{4}w}{\partial x^{4}}+\mu\frac{\partial^{2}w}{\partial t^{2}}=f(x) $$

$w$: deflection of beam

$E$: Modulus of Elasticity

$I$: Bending Moment of Inertia

$\mu$: Mass per Unit Length

Edit 1:

For a simple example consider the classical single degree of freedom rotating imbalance system.

Rotating Imbalance

Let $\beta$, the mass ratio be defined as, $$ \beta = \frac{m_{2}}{m_{1}+m_{2}}, $$

where $m_{1}$ is the larger non-rotating mass, and $m_{2}$ is the rotating mass.

Let $$ \omega_{n}^{2}=\frac{k}{m_{1}+m_{2}}. $$

Let $$ 2\zeta\omega_{n}=\frac{c}{m_{1}+m_{2}}. $$

Let $$ \Omega = \frac{\omega}{\omega_{n}}, $$ where $\omega$ is the frequency that $m_{2}$ is rotating at.

And finally, let $\epsilon$ be the radius that $m_{2}$ is rotating about.

We can derive the response of the system, and it's magnitude is given by $$ \frac{|X|}{\epsilon \beta}=\frac{\Omega^{2}}{\sqrt{(1-\Omega^{2})^{2}+(2\zeta \Omega)^{2}}} $$

Note that $m_{1}$ responds in the form of $$ X(t)=|X|\sin \omega t, $$ with $$ \dot{X}(t)=\omega |X|\cos \omega t. $$

The reason why I chose this system is because the limit of $\frac{|X|}{\epsilon \beta}$ as $\Omega$ tends toward infinity is 1. For this system there's nothing stopping us from arbitrarily increasing $\omega$ until $\omega |X|>c$ or until $\epsilon \omega>c$.

I would imagine that people who study the oscillations of neutron stars might know something about this, since I know that they rotate very quickly.

  • By "vibrating near the speed of light", do you just mean that the group velocity of the waves are near the speed of light? – qwyxivi May 20 '20 at 02:22
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    I'm unclear too. Are you asking how the modes of the beam 'look' in a coordinate system in which the beam has speed close to $c$? – Alfred Centauri May 20 '20 at 02:26
  • @AlfredCentauri That's essentially what I'm asking, yes. $\frac{\partial w(x,t)}{\partial t}$ is the velocity of the beam at some position x along the beam, and I'm trying to figure out what would happen to the beam as $\frac{\partial w(x,t)}{\partial t}$ approached $c$. – Daniel Agramonte May 20 '20 at 04:05
  • @DanielAgramonte you can try with this $t\mapsto c,t$ – Eli May 20 '20 at 06:34
  • @qwyxivi : I suspect that what is meant is that the transverse (perpendicular to the length of the beam) oscillations are moving near the speed of light. – The_Sympathizer May 20 '20 at 06:41
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    The equations for continuum solids stop working before you can reach that limit. That is, the continuum hypothesis is valid for low frequencies. See this answer: https://physics.stackexchange.com/a/326897/53167 – nicoguaro Jun 01 '20 at 17:04

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