Related papers: Minkowski and Special Relativity: Does His Spaceti…
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…
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…
The conventional discussion of apparent distortions of space and time in Special Relativity (the Lorentz-Fitzgerald Contraction and Time Dilatation) is extended by considering observations of : (i) moving objects of limited lifetime in…
Minkowski space serves as a framework for the theoretical constructions that deal with manifestations of relativistic effects in physical phenomena. But neither Minkowski himself nor the subsequent developers of the relativity theory have…
A new explanation for space contraction and time dilation in special relativity is offered based on kinetic energy differences between observers rather than velocity differences. The classical (Newtonian) concept of projectile motion…
Space-time intervals corresponding to different events on the worldline of any ponderable object (for example a clock) are time-like. In consequence, in the analysis of any space-time experiment involving clocks only the region for $c\Delta…
With special relativity, we seem to be facing a conundrum. It is a very well-tested theory; in this way, the Minkowski spacetime must be "capturing" essential features of space and time. However, its geometry seems to be incompatible with…
The conventional discussion of the observed distortions of space and time in Special Relativity (the Lorentz-Fitzgerald Contraction and Time Dilatation) is extended by considering observations, from a stationary frame, of : (i) objects…
In this two-part essay, we distinguish several senses in which general relativity has been regarded as "locally special relativistic". Here, in Part 1, we focus on senses in which a relativistic spacetime has been said to be "locally…
Time-like and space-like invariant space-time intervals are used to analyse measurements of spatial and temporal distances defined by two spatially-separated clocks. The time dilatation effect is confirmed, but not `relativity of…
In Minkowski spacetime, we consider an isolated system made of two pointlike bodies interacting at a distance, in the nonradiative approximation. Our framework is the covariant and a priori Hamiltonian formalism of "predictive relativistic…
The Lorentzian length of a timelike curve connecting both endpoints of a classical computation is a function of the path taken through Minkowski spacetime. The associated runtime difference is due to time-dilation: the phenomenon whereby an…
In 1908, Minkowski put forward the idea that invariance under what we call today the Lorentz group, $GL(1,3, {\bf R})$, would be more meaningful in a four-dimensional space-time continuum. This suggestion implies that space and time are…
In this work, the relativistic phenomena of Lorentz contraction and time dilation are derived using a modified distance formula appropriate for discrete space. This new distance formula is different than Pythagoras's theorem but converges…
A deformation of special relativistic kinematics (possible signal of a theory of quantum gravity at low energies) leads to a modification of the notion of spacetime. At the classical level, this modification is required when one considers a…
It is rarely emphasized in modern physics textbooks that our definitions of space and time have to reflect their complete interdependence. Our intuitive methods of always picturing one-dimensional space as a sum of unit-length rods and of…
The conceptual definition and understanding of the nature of time, both qualitatively and quantitatively is of the utmost difficulty and importance, and plays a fundamental role in physics. Physical systems seem to evolve in paths of…
In this essay, dedicated to the one hundredth anniversary of Hermann Minkowski's talk "Space and Time", I argue that physicists should face the issue of the reality of spacetime and worldtubes of physical objects for two reasons. First,…
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…
In the special theory of relativity, Lorentz invariance is extended in Minkowski spacetime from ideal inertial observers to actual observers by means of the hypothesis of locality, which postulates that accelerated observers are always…