Related papers: Relativity for Retired Engineers
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…
An approach to special relativity is outlined which emphasizes the wave and field mechanisms which physically produce the relativistic effects, with the goal of making them seem more natural to students by connecting more explicitly with…
Special relativity is no longer a new revolutionary theory but a firmly established cornerstone of modern physics. The teaching of special relativity, however, still follows its presentation as it unfolded historically, trying to convince…
We investigate the question: what structures of numbers (as physical quantities) are suitable to be used in special relativity? The answer to this question depends strongly on the auxiliary assumptions we add to the basic assumptions of…
General Relativity is considered to be so far the best gravitation theory. However it is quite hard to use in real situations. The root of these difficulties lays in the non-linearity of the theory. Our aim was not to linearize the theory,…
Was Einstein wrong? This paper provides a detailed technical review of Einstein's special and general relativity from an astrophysical perspective, including the historical development of the theories, experimental tests, modern…
These lectures notes contain an introduction to General Relativity. They are addressed to a general mathematical audience with no specific background in physics. The goal is to motivate and explain Einstein's theory of gravity and discuss…
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…
We present a streamlined axiom system of special relativity in first-order logic. From this axiom system we "derive" an axiom system of general relativity in two natural steps. We will also see how the axioms of special relativity transform…
Relativistic mechanics on an arbitrary manifold is formulated in the terms of jets of its one-dimensional submanifolds. A generic relativistic Lagrangian is constructed. Relativistic mechanics on a pseudo-Riemannian manifold is particularly…
We reformulate Special Relativity by a quaternionic algebra on reals. Using {\em real linear quaternions}, we show that previous difficulties, concerning the appropriate transformations on the $3+1$ space-time, may be overcome. This implies…
Controversies arise when specialists disagree on some particular issue. This normally occurs in any scientific brunch. We analyze some controversies, which have a good cause in Special Relativity. The paper does not question Special…
Difficulties and discomfort with the interpretation of quantum mechanics are due to differences in language between it and classical physics. Analogies to The Special Theory of Relativity, which also required changes in the basic worldview…
A modern elementary introduction to special relativity for advanced school children or first-year university students, in Russian. I try to demonstrate that relativity does not contradict common sense; on the contrary, it follows from…
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…
Different formulations of special relativity are theoretically discussed. First an invariant formulation, i.e., the ''true transformations (TT) relativity,'' is exposed. There a physical quantity is represented by a true tensor which…
A local conception is proposed to reconcile quantum theory with general relativity, which allows one to avoid some difficulties --- as e.g. vacuum catastrophe --- of the global approach.
The theory of special relativity can be generalized by means of a new principle called Conservation of Information. This allows a derivation of the constancy of the velocity of light with respect to moving frames, and, consequently, of…
It is plausible that quantum gravity effects may lead us to a description of Nature beyond the framework of special relativity. In this case, either the relativity principle is broken or it is maintained. These two scenarios (a violation or…
An attempt to answer the question 'Can we observe galaxies that recede faster than light ?' led to a re-examination of the notions of time, distance, velocity and redshift as they occur in newtonian physics, special relativity, general…