Related papers: Nothing but Relativity, Redux
We deduce the most general space-time transformation laws consistent with the principle of relativity. Thus, our result contains the results of both Galilean and Einsteinian relativity. The velocity addition law comes as a bi-product of…
We determine the Lorentz transformations and the kinematic content and dynamical framework of special relativity as purely an extension of Galileo's thoughts. No reference to light is ever required: The theories of relativity are logically…
The Lorentz Transformations are derived without any linearity assumptions and without assuming that y and z coordinates transform in a Galilean manner. Status of the invariance of the speed of light is reduced from a foundation of the…
On the basis of Galilean invariance and the Doppler formula, combined with an observational condition, it is shown that the constancy of the velocity of light {\it in vacuo} can be derived, together with time-dilatation and Lorentz…
At the end of the 19th century light was regarded as an electromagnetic wave propagating in a material medium called ether. The speed c appearing in Maxwell's wave equations was the speed of light with respect to the ether. Therefore,…
We show a very simple yet rigorous derivation of the invariance of the space-time interval (and hence the whole special relativity) just from the isotropy, homogeneity and a principle of relativity, without the need of the speed of light…
Einstein based his special theory of relativity on two postulates: (a) physical laws appear the same in all inertial frames, and (b) the speed of light in vacuum is an observer-independent constant. However, it is already known that the…
Simply by assuming the first postulate of Special Relativity and by exploring Gedankenexperiments with electromagnetic forces, we suggest that there is a speed limit in the universe, which can be determined as a relation between vacuum…
It is shown that the correct expressions for momentum and kinetic energy of a particle moving at high speed were already implicit in physics going back to Maxwell. The demonstration begins with a thought experiment of Einstein by which he…
In this paper, we endeavour to show that from the noncommutative nature of spacetime one can deduce the concept of relativity in the sense that the velocity cannot be infinite as in the case of Galilean relativity.
The so-called principle of relativity is able to fix a general coordinate transformation which differs from the standard Lorentzian form only by an unknown speed which cannot in principle be identified with the light speed. Based on a…
We present a way of teaching Einstein's special relativity. It starts with Galileo's relativity, the learners know from previous lectures. The lecture underlines that we can have three transformation equations for the space-time coordinates…
The most general transformation connecting inertial frames is derived from rather general and simple assumptions, without the postulate of constancy of the speed of light in vacuo.
Einstein's special theory of relativity revolutionized physics by teaching us that space and time are not separate entities, but join as ``spacetime''. His general theory of relativity further taught us that spacetime is not just a stage on…
We derive the relativistic velocity addition law, the transformations of electromagnetic fields and space-time intervals by examining the drift velocities in a crossed electromagnetic field configuration. The postulate of the light velocity…
It is demonstrated that the measured spatial separation of two objects, at rest in some inertial frame, is invariant under space-time transformations. This result holds in both Galilean and Special Relativity. A corollary is that there are…
The principle of relativity, as originally expressed by Galileo, points out that the area of competence of the principle itself is that of isolated systems as well as inertial reference frames. The principle does not claim that it is always…
The Einstein postulates assert an invariance of the propagation speed of light in vacuum for any observer, and which amounts to a presumed absence of any preferred frame. The postulates appear to be directly linked to relativistic effects…
The established way of looking at special relativity is based on Einstein postulates: the principle of relativity and the constancy of the velocity of light. In the most general geometric approach to the theory of special relativity, the…
It is a little known fact that while he was developing his theory of general relativity, Einstein's initial idea was a variable speed of light theory. Indeed space-time curvature can be mimicked by a speed of light $c(r)$ that depends on…