Related papers: Astronomical distances and velocities and special …
Three related topics are discussed to show the "simplicity, harmony and beauty" of the theory of special relativity (SR): (1) How can de'Broglie discover his famous relation between the particle's momentum and a wave length -- a paradox…
This paper completes and comments on some aspects of our previous publications. In ref [1], we have derived a set of space-time transformations referred to as the extended space-time transformations. These transformations, which assume the…
Relative motions have long been known to mislead the unsuspecting observers to false interpretations of reality. The deceptions are usually brief and unimportant, though relative motions have also led to illusions that were both…
We state a condition for an observer to be comoving with another observer in general relativity, based on the concept of lightlike simultaneity. Taking into account this condition, we study relative velocities, Doppler effect and light…
In this paper we review two symmetry axioms of special relativity and their connections to each other together with their role in some famous predictions of relativity theory, such as time dilation, length contraction, and the twin paradox.…
The shortening of bodies in the direction of motion, Lorentz contraction, follows from the solution of Maxwell's equations. Moving light clocks will tick slower than those at rest because the speed of light does not depend on a source of…
The principles of the special theory of relativity are extremely simple. A knowledge of the Pythagorean theorem and an ability to perform the simplest algebraic operations are sufficient to be conversant with the kinematics of the special…
A calculus based on pointer-mark coincidences is proposed to define, in a mathematically rigorous way, measurements of space and time intervals. The connection between such measurements in different inertial frames according to the Galilean…
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…
This paper aims to provide teachers with a tool to teach the essential features of special relativity, considering the students' difficulties highlighted by numerous studies. Our proposal presents special relativity as the solution to the…
We look afresh at the deduction of the "Lorentz contraction" of a "rod" from the Lorentz transformation equations of the special theory of relativity. We show that under special conditions, which include acceleration of the "rod", length…
We review why the Thomas rotation is a crucial facet of special relativity, that is just as fundamental, and just as "unintuitive" and "paradoxical", as such traditional effects as length contraction, time dilation, and the ambiguity of…
We investigate the effects of the aberration of light for a uniformly accelerating observer. The observer we consider is initially at rest with respect to a luminous spherical object--a star, say--and then starts to move away with constant…
It is shown without making use of Lorentz transformation that there exists a phenomenon of relativistic zero-frequency shift in Doppler effect for a plane wave in free space, observed in two inertial frames of relative motion, and the zero…
In order to respect the Principle of Relativity, the analysis of the behavior of the longitudinal light clock reveals the necessity to extend the Doppler effect also to space and time. As a consequence, the bodies in inertial motion must…
Various paradoxes about the relativity theory have been developed since the birth of this theory. Each paradox somewhat shows people's query about the relativity theory, and solving of each paradox demonstrates the correctness of relativity…
Galaxies are gigantic physical systems having a typical size of many tens of thousands of light years. Thus any change at the center of the galaxy will affect the rim only tens of millennia later. Those retardation effects seems to be…
A special case of the relativistic Doppler effect, which occurs when light reflects from a moving mirror, is discussed. The classic formula for the Doppler shift is derived in a fully non-relativistic fashion using basic facts from…
General relativity provides an appropriate framework for addressing the issue of sub- or superluminality as an apparent effect. Even though a massless particle travels on the light cone, its average velocity over a finite path measured by…
We compare the results obtained by interpreting some fundamental relativistic experiments from the point of view of two alternative theories: Einstein's special relativity theory and the Lorentz-Poincare theory admitting the existence of a…