Related papers: Relativity without light: A new proof of Ignatowsk…
We derive rotation free Lorentz Transformation (LT) between two inertial reference frames without using the second postulate of Einstein, i.e., we do not assume the invariant speed of light (in vacuum) under LT. We find a general…
The structure of the Lorentz transformations follows purely from the absence of privileged inertial reference frames and the group structure (closure under composition) of the transformations---two assumptions that are simple and physically…
Ever since the work of von Ignatowsky circa 1910 it has been known (if not always widely appreciated) that the relativity principle, combined with the basic and fundamental physical assumptions of locality, linearity, and isotropy, leads…
The Lorentz Transformation is derived from only three simple postulates: (i) a weak kinematical form of the Special Relativity Principle that requires the equivalence of reciprocal space-time measurements by two different inertial…
Starting from the classical Newton's second law which, according to our assumption, is valid in any instantaneous inertial rest frame of body that moves in Minkowskian space-time we get the relativistic equation of motion…
A century after its formulation by Einstein, it is time to incorporate special relativity early in the physics curriculum. The approach advocated here employs a simple algebraic extension of vector formalism that generates Minkowski…
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…
Here we show how spacetime transformations consistent with the principle of relativity can be derived without an explicit assumption of the constancy of the speed of light, without gedanken experiments involving light rays, and without an…
The complex relationship between Einstein's second postulate and the Maxwell electromagnetic theory is elucidated. A simple deduction of the main results of the Ignatowski approach to the theory of relativity is given. The peculiar status…
In a way similar to classical mechanics where we have the concept of inertial time as expressed in the motions of bodies, in the (special) theory of relativity we can regard the inertial time as the only notion of time at play. The inertial…
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…
Special Relativity (SR) kinematics is derived from very intuitive assumptions. Contrary to standard Einstein's derivation, no light signal is used in the construction nor it is assumed to exist. Instead we postulate the existence of two…
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…
We present a geometric proof of the invariance of the relativistic spacetime interval based solely on the constancy of the speed of light, and the homogeneity and isotropy of spacetime. The derivation is based on a simple construction…
Minkowski diagrams in 1+1 dimensional flat space-time are given a strictly geometric derivation, directly from two gedanken experiments incorporating the principle of the constancy of the velocity of light and the principle of (special)…
Using spacetime algebra, the geometric algebra of spacetime, the general problem of relativistic addition of velocities is addressed. The successive application of non-collinear Lorentz boosts is then studied in Minkowski spacetime. Even…
Theories of gravitation without Lorentz invariance are candidates of low-energy descriptions of quantum gravity. In this review we will describe the phenomenological consequences of the candidates associated to the existence of a preferred…
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 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…
The theory of relativity was built up on linear Lorentz transformation. However, in his fundamental work "Theory of Space, Time and Gravitation" V.A.Fock shows that the general form of the transformation between the coordinates in the two…