Relativistic Thermodynamics: Theory and Computer Experiment

A thermodynamic system in uniform translation appears to a stationary observer to be a) colder $T = T_0/\gamma$ according to Planck and Einstein (1907), or b) hotter $T = T_0 \gamma$ according to Ott (1963), where $\gamma = (1-v^2/c^2)^{-1/2}$. The heated debate regarding the laws of transformation for the relativistic quantities is yet to be settled. In this paper I address the relativistic law of transformation of the temperature from the perspective of imposing the relativistic covariance of the fundamental laws of thermodynamics. Also, I report results from computer simulation of fully relativistic 2- dimensional molecular dynamics. I conclude that J\"uttner distribution is well reproduced experimentally and I investigate the relativistic law of transformation of the temperature.