Related papers: Special relativity (in Russian)
A new approach to special relativity is presented which introduces coordinate systems with imaginary time axes, observation systems, and coordinate bases.
Starting with two light clocks to derive time dilation expression, as many textbooks do, and then adding a third one, we work on relativistic spacetime coordinates relations for some simple events as emission, reflection and return of light…
We motivate and construct a mathematical theory for the separation of space and time in general relativity. The formalism only requires a single observer and an optional choice of reference frame at each instant. As the splitting is done…
Many professional physicists do not fully understand the implications of the Einstein equivalence principle of general relativity. Consequently, many are unaware of the fact that special relativity is fully capable of handling accelerated…
The essay presents Special Relativity (SR) from historical and conceptual points of view. It also touches on some attempts to go beyond SR. However, still more than 100 years old SR seems as vigorous as ever and no serious challenger for a…
In these notes, based on the lectures given at 40th Winter School on Theoretical Physics, I review some aspects of Doubly Special Relativity (DSR). In particular, I discuss relation between DSR and quantum gravity, the formal structure of…
This is a short note to announce the availability of some movies that may be useful in classroom discussions on the photographic appearance of objects moving at relativistic speeds. The images are based on special relativity with no account…
This paper presents some ideas which might assist teachers incorporating special relativity into an introductory physics curriculum. One can define the proper-time/velocity pair, as well as the coordinate-time/velocity pair, of a traveler…
We explain in a very concise way the basic principles that lead from Galilean to General Relativity to make them understandable to students or general audience, even with little knowledge in physics and mathematics.
The extremely high precision of current astronomical observations demands a much better theoretical treatment of relativistic effects in the propagation of electromagnetic signals through variable gravitational fields of isolated…
Special Relativity is taught to physics sophomores at Johns Hopkins University in a series of eight lectures. Lecture 1 covers the principle of relativity and the derivation of the Lorentz transform. Lecture 2 covers length contraction and…
The concept of an objective spatial direction in special relativity is investigated and theories assuming light-speed isotropy while accepting the existence of a privileged spatial direction are classified. A natural generalization of the…
General relativity poses serious problems for counterfactual propositions peculiar to it as a physical theory. Because these problems arise solely from the dynamical nature of spacetime geometry, they are shared by all schools of thought on…
In my previous work, physics/0205011, I reported several observations on special relativity, its experimental facts and its relations to quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics. These observations made us conscious: Special relativity…
We discuss a superluminal unphysical motion which, we believe, has a high pedagogical potential. It highlights the physics behind the concept of simultaneity in special relativity and illustrates the non-physical character of superluminal…
Einstein's theory of general relativity (GR) provides the best available description of gravity. The recent detection of gravitational waves and the first picture of a black hole have provided spectacular confirmations of GR, as well as…
A pedagogical but concise overview of Riemannian geometry is provided, in the context of usage in physics. The emphasis is on defining and visualizing concepts and relationships between them, as well as listing common confusions,…
Einstein distinguished between ``principle'' and ``constructive'' theories in physics, and although he thought the latter were more explanatory than the former, he regarded his 1905 formulation of special relativity theory as a principle…
Special theory of relativity has been formulated in a vacuum momentum-energy representation which is equivalent to Einstein special relativity and predicts just the same results as it. Although in this sense such a formulation would be at…
This work provides a smooth and everywhere well-defined extension of Bondi-Metzner-Sachs (BMS) supertranslations into the bulk of Minkowski space. The supertranslations lead to physically distinct spacetimes, all isometric to Minkowski…