Related papers: The "Relativistic" Mug
I sketch what it is supposed to mean to quantize gauge theory, and how this can be made more concrete in perturbation theory and also by starting with a finite-dimensional lattice approximation. Based on real experiments and computer…
Our concept of mass has evolved considerably over the centuries, most notably from Newton to Einstein, and then even more vigorously with the establishment of the standard model and the subsequent discovery of the Higgs boson. Mass is now…
General Relativity (GR) represents the most recent theory of gravity, on which all modern astrophysics is based, including some of the most astonishing results of physics research. Nevertheless, its study is limited to university courses,…
Teaching modern physics in high school is of increasingly importance as it can offer students a more realistic and updated vision of the world, and can provide an opportunity to understand the most recent scientific discoveries. In this…
This paper has pedagogical motivation. It is not uncommon that students have great difficulty in accepting the new concepts of standard special relativity, since these seem contrary to common sense. Experience shows that geometrical or…
This paper has been withdrawn by the author. In this short paper I present a new approach to the problem of measurement, based on the difference between language (reality) and meta-language (meta-reality). This way, it will be shown as the…
A detailed re-examination of the seminal paper on special relativity, taking into account recent work on the physical interpretation of the space-time Lorentz transformation as well as the modern understanding of classical elecromagnetism…
The Einstein Toolkit represents a unique opportunity for students to explore the world of numerical relativity, without the need for high-level computing power or knowledge of the mathematics behind the simulations themselves. This document…
Within the past fifteen years the use of the concept of "relativistic mass" has been on the decline and has been replaced by the concept of "proper mass" (aka "rest mass") - ?simply referred to as "mass" and labeled "m" by its proponents.…
In this lecture I build up the motivation for relativity and gravitation based on general principles and common sense considerations which should fall in the sphere of appreciation of a general reader. There is a novel way of looking at…
Einstein's theory of general relativity describes gravity as the interaction of particles with space-time geometry, as opposed to interacting with a physical fluid, as in the old gravitational aether theories. Moreover, any theoretical…
We first see that the inertia of Newtonian mechanics is absolute and troublesome. General relativity can be viewed as Einstein's attempt to remedy, by making inertia relative, to matter---perhaps imperfectly though, as at least a couple of…
There are several ways to derive Einstein's celebrated formula for the energy of a massive particle at rest, $E=mc^2$. Noether's theorem applied to the relativistic Lagrange function provides an unambiguous and straightforward access to…
One of the most difficult questions in present-day physics concerns a fundamental theory of space, time, and matter that incorporates a consistent quantum description of gravity. There are various theoretical approaches to such a…
Most of the logical objections against the classical laws of motion, as they are usually presented in textbooks, centre on the fact that defining force in terms of mass and acceleration, the first two laws are mere assertions of concepts to…
The special theory of relativity has fundamentally changed our views of space and time. The relativity of simultaneity in particular, and the theory of relativity as a whole, still presents significant difficulty for beginners in the…
Einstein's relativity theory demands that all meaningful physical objects should be defined covariantly, i.e. in a coordinate independent way. Concepts of relative velocity, acceleration, gravity acceleration and gravity potential are…
In this article the concept of mass is analyzed based on the special and general relativity theories and particle (quantum) physics. The mass of a particle (m=E(0)/c^2) is determined by the minimum (rest) energy to create that particle…
These pedagogical notes are dedicated to a derivation of the Unruh effect. There is special emphasis on the transparency of the arguments and the exhibition of detailed calculations. We assume the reader has a basic knowledge of quantum…
The Einstein-Langevin equation is a perturbative correction to the semiclassical Einstein equation which takes into account the lowest order quantum fluctuations of the matter stress-energy tensor. It predicts classical stochastic…