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    of 1

    Kevin Zhou Physics Olympiad Handouts

    The stopping time t can be found by canceling out the length dimension. If t ∝ (b/m)α v β ,
    then:
    α(1 − n) + β = 0 α(−2 + n) − β = 1
    Solving yields
    mv 1−n
    α = −1 β = 1 − n, t∝ .
    b
    The distance x traveled has dimensions of vt, so

    mv 2−n
    x∝ .
    b

    (b) The results don’t seem to make sense. At n = 1, it appears that the time it takes to stop
    no longer depends on v, which doesn’t seem correct since the stopping time should always
    increase with velocity. And for n > 1, the stopping time decreases with velocity, which is even
    worse. Similar issues happen for the stopping distance for n ≥ 2.
    The resolution is that in these cases, the stopping time/distance are actually infinite, as you
    can check explicitly. In other words, dimensional analysis worked, but the hidden dimensionless
    prefactor was infinity.

    Idea 2
    Dimensional analysis applies everywhere. The argument of any function that is not a mono-
    mial, such as sin x, must have no dimensions. The derivative d/dx has the opposite dimensions
    to x, and the dx in an integral has the same dimensions as x.

    Example 3

    We are given the integral Z ∞ √


    2
    e−x dx = π.
    −∞
    Find the value of the integral Z ∞
    2
    e−ax dx.
    −∞

    Solution
    In the first equation, x must be dimensionless, so both sides are dimensionless. The second
    equation would also be consistent if both x and a were dimensionless, but we can do better.
    Suppose we arbitrarily assign x dimensions of length, [x] = m. Then to make the argument
    of the exponential dimensionless, a must have dimensions [a] = m−2 . The dimensions of the
    left-hand side are [dx] = m. In order to make the dimensions work out on the right-hand
    side, we must have Z ∞
    2 1
    e−ax dx ∝ √ .
    −∞ a
    To find the value of the constant, treat x and a as dimensionless again. Then we know the

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