Related papers: Rod-ring collision paradox
In the rod and hole paradox as described by Rindler (1961 Am. J. Phys. 29 365-6), a rigid rod moves at high speed over a table towards a hole of the same size. Observations from the inertial frames of the rod and slot are widely different.…
In the usual rod and slot paradox, the rod, if it falls, was expected to fall into the slot due to gravity. Many thought experiments have been conducted where the presence of gravity is eliminated with the rod and slot approaching each…
The relativistic motion of an arbitrary point of an accelerated rigid rod is discussed for the case when velocity and acceleration are directed along the rod's length. The discussion includes the case of a time-dependent force applied to a…
Some known relativistic paradoxes are reconsidered for closed spaces, using a simple geometric model. For two twins in a closed space, a real paradox seems to emerge when the traveling twin is moving uniformly along a geodesic and returns…
The situation of a charged particle passing down the symmetry axis through a magnetic toroid presents a relativity paradox; different inertial frames suggest different forces on the charge and on the toroid due to the unperturbed systems.…
Relativistic rigid motion suggests a new version for the so-called `twin paradox', comparing the ages of two astronauts on a very long spaceship. Although there is always an instantaneous inertial frame in which the whole spaceship, being…
Demonstrations of quantum entanglement which confirm the violation of Bell's inequality indicate that under certain conditions action at a distance is possible. This consequence seems to contradict the relativistic principle of causality,…
The 120-year old so-called Painleve paradox involves the loss of determinism in models of planar rigid bodies in point contact with a rigid surface, subject to Coulomb-like dry friction. The phenomenon occurs due to coupling between normal…
The Ehrenfest paradox for a rotating ring is examined and a kinematic resolution, within the framework of the special theory of relativity, is presented. Two different ways by which a ring can be brought from rest to rotational motion,…
The gedanken experiment of the clock paradox is solved exactly using the general relativistic equations for a static homogeneous gravitational field. We demonstrate that the general and special relativistic clock paradox solutions are…
The special theory of relativity is the foundation of modern physics, but its unusual postulate of invariant vacuum speed of light results in a number of plausible paradoxes. This situation leads to radical criticisms and suspicions against…
The distinction between the real positions of moving objects in a single reference frame and the apparent positions of objects at rest in one inertial frame and viewed from another, as predicted by the space-time Lorentz Transformations, is…
A simple, though rarely considered, thought experiment on relativistic rotation is described in which internal inconsistencies in the theory of relativity seem to arise. These apparent inconsistencies are resolved by appropriate insight…
In the standard formulation of the twin paradox an accelerated twin considers himself as at rest and his brother as moving. Hence, when formulating the twin paradox, one uses the general principle of relativity, i.e. that accelerated and…
In this paper we treat the so called clock paradox in an analytical way by assuming that a constant and uniform force F of finite magnitude acts continuously on the moving clock along the direction of its motion assumed to be rectilinear.…
For simple electromagnetic models of a rod and a clock, a change of the shape of the rod and of the rate of the clock when they are set in uniform motion is calculated exactly, employing the correct equation of motion of a charged particle…
Relativistic kinematics is usually considered only as a manifestation of pseudo-Euclidean (Lorentzian) geometry of space-time. However, as it is explicitly stated in General Relativity, the geometry itself depends on dynamics, specifically,…
It is often argued that superluminal velocities and nontrivial spacetime topologies, allowed by the theory of relativity, may lead to causal paradoxes. By emphasizing that the notion of causality assumes the existence of a time arrow (TA)…
The clock paradox is analyzed for the case when the onward and return trips cover the same <<distance>> (as observed by the traveling twin) but at unequal velocities. In this case the stationary twin observes the distances covered by her…
Relativistic length contraction is revisited and a simple but new thought experiment is proposed in which an apparent asymmetric situation is developed between two different inertial frames regarding detection of light that comes from a…