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A closer look (with hindsight) at Newtonian and relativistic kinematics reveals two things. Not surprisingly, Newtonian time remains the empty and artificial - albeit useful - figment it is known to be. Quite unexpectedly however it turns…
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…
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…
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 challenge in teaching about special relativity is that a number of the theory's effects are at odds with the intuition of classical physics, as well as student's everyday experience. The relativity of simultaneity, time dilation and…
It is shown that the most important effects of special and general theory of relativity can be understood in a simple and straightforward way. The system of units in which the speed of light $c$ is the unit of velocity allows to cast all…
Some studies interpret quantum measurement as being explicitly non local. Others assume the preferred frame hypothesis. Unfortunately, these two classes of studies conflict with Minkowski space-time geometry. On the contrary, in Aristotle…
In this article, we present several apparent paradoxes of special relativity and their respective solutions. These paradoxes have appeared since the advent of relativity in 1905, and in fact they are never paradoxes. From a didactic point…
In the presence of a cosmological constant, ordinary Poincare' special relativity is no longer valid and must be replaced by a de Sitter special relativity, in which Minkowski space is replaced by a de Sitter spacetime. In consequence, the…
The special theory of relativity is constructed demanding the retention of the rectilinear form of a trajectory and invariance of the wave equation under linear transformations of space and time coordinates. The usual approach to relativity…
The first three sections of this article contain a broad brush summary of the profound changes in the notion of time in fundamental physics that were brought about by three revolutions: the foundations of mechanics distilled by Newton in…
Doubly special relativity has been studied for the last twenty years as a way to go beyond the special relativistic kinematics, trying to capture residual effects of a quantum gravity theory. In particular, in doubly special relativity the…
We consider gravitational time dilation between stationary observers and present examples, which contradict the statement that "time slows down as gravity increases". We show furthermore that this statement cannot be true in general, if…
In this Ph.D. thesis several topics in doubly special relativity are explored. The starting point of this theory is very different from other perspectives: it is not a fundamental theory, but it is considered a low energy limit of a quantum…
The so-called principle of relativity is able to fix a general coordinate transformation which differs from the standard Lorentzian form only by an unknown speed which cannot in principle be identified with the light speed. Based on a…
Double Special Relativity theories are the relativistic theories in which the transformations between inertial observers are characterized by two observer-independent scales of the light speed and the Planck length. We study two main…
Cosmological peculiar velocities have traditionally been studied within the framework of Newtonian theory. Around the turn of the century, a few quasi-Newtonian analyses appeared in the literature, but led to equations and results identical…
This article reports on an investigation of student understanding of the concept of time in special relativity. A series of research tasks are discussed that illustrate, step-by-step, how student reasoning of fundamental concepts of…
In a previous work we have shown that the null result of the Michelson-Morley experiment in vacuum is deeply connected with the notion of time. The same is true for the the postulate of constancy of the two-way speed of light in vacuum in…
It continues to be alleged that superluminal influences of any sort would be inconsistent with special relativity for the following three reasons: (i) they would imply the existence of a distinguished' frame; (ii) they would allow the…