Lorentz factor

Okay kiddo, have you ever heard of something called time dilation? It's when time seems to go slower or faster depending on how fast you are moving. This can happen in space or even in a fast-moving car.

The Lorentz factor is a math thing that helps us figure out how much time is affected by how fast something is moving. It's named after a really smart guy called Hendrik Lorentz.

Imagine you are a superhero and you can run really fast, almost as fast as the speed of light. But as you run faster, time seems to slow down for you. The Lorentz factor helps us calculate how much time is slowing down the faster you run.

For example, if you run at half the speed of light, your Lorentz factor would be 1.15. That means time is going 15% slower for you than it is for someone who is not moving. If you were running at 80% the speed of light, your Lorentz factor would be 1.67, which means time is going almost twice as slow for you as it is for someone who is not moving.

This might sound strange, but it's actually true! Scientists have tested this out and found that time really does slow down the faster you go. It's all because of the Lorentz factor.