Related papers: The train/embankment thought experiment, Einstein'…
The concepts of primary and reciprocal experiments and base and travelling frames in special relativity are concisely described and applied to several different space-time experiments. These include Einstein's train/embankment thought…
The Einstein postulates assert an invariance of the propagation speed of light in vacuum for any observer, and which amounts to a presumed absence of any preferred frame. The postulates appear to be directly linked to relativistic effects…
Einstein based his special theory of relativity on two postulates: (a) physical laws appear the same in all inertial frames, and (b) the speed of light in vacuum is an observer-independent constant. However, it is already known that the…
Evaluation of the additive constants in the space-time Lorentz transformation equations required, according to Einstein, to correctly describe synchronised clocks at different spatial locations, reveals the spurious and unphysical nature of…
A detailed re-examination of the seminal paper on special relativity, taking into account recent work on the physical interpretation of the space-time Lorentz transformation as well as the modern understanding of classical elecromagnetism…
Simply by assuming the first postulate of Special Relativity and by exploring Gedankenexperiments with electromagnetic forces, we suggest that there is a speed limit in the universe, which can be determined as a relation between vacuum…
We compare the results obtained by interpreting some fundamental relativistic experiments from the point of view of two alternative theories: Einstein's special relativity theory and the Lorentz-Poincare theory admitting the existence of a…
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…
The principles of the special theory of relativity are extremely simple. A knowledge of the Pythagorean theorem and an ability to perform the simplest algebraic operations are sufficient to be conversant with the kinematics of the special…
This paper constitutes a background to the paper 'Quantum mechanics as "space-time statistical mechanics"?', arXiv:quant-ph/0501133, presented previously by the author. But it is also a free-standing and self-contained paper. The purpose of…
In this article, we argue that the theory of special relativity, as formulated by Einstein, is a philosophical rather than a scientific theory. What is scientific and experimentally supported is the formalism of the relativistic mechanics…
Einstein's argument on the relativity of simultaneity itself is the first result of the special theory of relativity. The nature of this result is explored, and implications of this result for the structure and functioning of the physical…
The purpose of this letter is to show, on the one hand, how the so-called train paradox could be resolved directly without appealing to non-linear Lorentz transformations. The resolution is established in the most general case of…
The confrontation between Einstein's gravitation theory and experimental results, notably binary pulsar data, is summarized and its significance discussed. Experiment and theory agree at the 10^{-3} level. All the basic structures of…
One of the most discussed peculiarities of Einstein's theory of relativity is the twin paradox, the fact that the time between two events in space-time appears to depend on the path between these events. We show that this time discrepancy…
It is demonstrated that the measured spatial separation of two objects, at rest in some inertial frame, is invariant under space-time transformations. This result holds in both Galilean and Special Relativity. A corollary is that there are…
We look afresh at the deduction of the "Lorentz contraction" of a "rod" from the Lorentz transformation equations of the special theory of relativity. We show that under special conditions, which include acceleration of the "rod", length…
Many authors noted that the principle of relativity, together with space-time symmetries, suffices to derive Lorentz-like coordinate transformations between inertial frames. These contain a free parameter, $k$, (equal to $c^{-2}$ in special…
The confrontation between Einstein's gravitation theory and experimental results, notably binary pulsar data, is summarized and its significance discussed. Experiment and theory agree at the 10^{-3} level or better. All the basic structures…
An elementary thought experiment is used to show that once the time dilatation effect is established, there is no way to escape a dual length contraction.