Related papers: Projectiles, pendula, and special relativity
A modest aim of this pedagogical presentation is to analyze, critically, certain fundamental physical concepts to illustrate the physical principles behind the special theory of relativity and, hence, to also illustrate the limitations of…
A classic problem of the motion of a projectile thrown at an angle to the horizon is studied. Air resistance force is taken into account with the use of the quadratic resistance law. The projectile motion is described analytically with…
This paper has pedagogical motivation. It is not uncommon that students have great difficulty in accepting the new concepts of standard special relativity, since these seem contrary to common sense. Experience shows that geometrical or…
The present article deals with a formulation of the so called (vacuum) Palatini gravity as a general variational principle. In order to accomplish this goal, some geometrical tools related to the geometry of the bundle of connections of the…
Real Time Relativity is a computer program that lets students fly at relativistic speeds though a simulated world populated with planets, clocks, and buildings. The counterintuitive and spectacular optical effects of relativity are…
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…
Special relativity turns out to be more than coordinate transformations in which the constancy of the speed of light plays the central role between two inertial reference frames. Special relativity, in essence, is a theory of…
A simple geometrical model is presented for the gravity-driven motion of a single particle on a rough inclined surface. Adopting a simple restitution law for the collisions between the particle and the surface, we arrive at a model in which…
In this introductory review article, we explore the special relativistic equations of particle motions and the consequent derivation of Einstein's famous formula $E=mc^2$. Next, we study the special relativistic electromagnetic field…
In this paper we consider the central force problem in the special theory of relativity. We derive the special relativistic version of the Binet equation describing the orbit of a body. Then, the motion of a planet in a solar-like system…
The principles of the physical description of non-inertial frames of reference are analyzed. The systems of physical reality description (PhRD) are introduced on base of generalization of the relativistic principle in special and general…
This paper aims to provide teachers with a tool to teach the essential features of special relativity, considering the students' difficulties highlighted by numerous studies. Our proposal presents special relativity as the solution to the…
In this lecture I build up the motivation for relativity and gravitation based on general principles and common sense considerations which should fall in the sphere of appreciation of a general reader. There is a novel way of looking at…
These notes give a concise introduction to General Relativity at the advanced undergraduate level, starting from the weak field limit and gravitational waves, then introducing curved manifolds and Riemannian geometry. The nonlinear…
A reference frame consists of: a reference space, a time scale and a spatial metric. The geometric structure induced by these objects in spacetime is developed. The existence of a class of spatial metrics that are rigid, have free mobility…
The field equations of a generalized $f(R)$ type gravity model, in which there is an arbitrary coupling between matter and geometry, are obtained. The equations of motion for test particles are derived from a variational principle in the…
The motion of a classical pendulum in a gravitational field of strength g is explored. The complex trajectories as well as the real ones are determined. If g is taken to be imaginary, the Hamiltonian that describes the pendulum becomes…
The purpose of this paper is to provide an elementary introduction to the qualitative and quantitative results of velocity combination in special relativity, including the Wigner rotation and Thomas precession. We utilize only the most…
This is a short note to announce the availability of some movies that may be useful in classroom discussions on the photographic appearance of objects moving at relativistic speeds. The images are based on special relativity with no account…
This review presents an overview of various kinds of models -- physical, abstract, mathematical, visual -- that can be used to present the concepts and applications of Einstein's general theory of relativity at the level of undergraduate…