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Two common misconceptions about the theory of Special Relativity that are actively taught in textbooks are discussed. It is shown, first, that the Lorentz transformations are actually transformations of the coordinates of a photon, not the…
In a recent paper [1], it was introduced a new class of gravitational theories with two local degrees of freedom. The existence of these theories apparently challenges the distinctive role of general relativity as the unique non-linear…
General Relativity is the modern theory of gravitation. It has replaced the newtonian theory in the description of the gravitational phenomena. In spite of the remarkable success of the General Relativity Theory, the newtonian gravitational…
This work may be defined as a modern philosophical approach to theoretical physics. Since ancient times science and philosophy evolved in parallel, thus renewing from time to time the epochal paradigms of human thought. We could not…
In the framework of special relativity, all particles are point-like or string-like. This nature of particles has caused the divergence difficulties in quantum field, string and superstring theories. In the framework of special relativity,…
There are many books on the classical subject of special relativity. However, after having spent a number of years, both in relativistic engineering and research with relativity, I have come to the conclusion that there exist a place for a…
For the last 100 years, General Relativity (GR) has taken over the gravitational theory mantle held by Newtonian Gravity for the previous 200 years. This article reviews the status of GR in terms of its self-consistency, completeness, and…
The Principle of Relativity has so far been understood as the {\it covariance} of laws of Physics with respect to a general class of reference frame transformations. That relativity, however, has only been expressed with the help of {\it…
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…
This paper presents a brief but comprehensive introduction to certain mathematical techniques in General Relativity. Familiar mathematical procedures are investigated taking into account the complications of introducing a non trivial…
Special Relativity is taught to physics sophomores at Johns Hopkins University in a series of eight lectures. Lecture 1 covers the principle of relativity and the derivation of the Lorentz transform. Lecture 2 covers length contraction and…
In general relativity (GR), spacetime geometry is no longer just a background arena but a physical and dynamical entity with its own degrees of freedom. We present an overview of approaches to quantum gravity in which this central feature…
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…
A new formulation of what may be called the "fundamental theorem of the theory of relativity" is presented and proved in (3+1)-space-time, based on the full classification of special transformations and the corresponding velocity addition…
A phenomenological explanation is presented for the physics of aberration, which is in contrast with special relativity physics. The effect of relativity is identified with an effect due to the velocity of observation being affected by the…
Effective physics learning, especially in complex topics, requires balancing mathematical formalism with conceptual understanding. Conceptual problem-solving involves connecting math to physical reality, and using an epistemological…
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…
Prior research has demonstrated how the realist perspectives of classical physics students can translate into specific beliefs about quantum phenomena when taking an introductory modern physics course. Student beliefs regarding the…
A survey was developed to probe student understanding of quantum mechanics at the beginning of graduate instruction. The survey was administered to 202 physics graduate students enrolled in first-year quantum mechanics courses from seven…
In this paper we discuss Internal Relativity, a recent program to address the problem of quantum gravity. In our approach we change the relationship between spacetime and matter. Currently we view matter as propagating on spacetime.…