Related papers: Special Relativity properties from Minkowski diagr…
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…
In this pedagogical article, we explore a powerful language for describing the notion of spacetime and particle dynamics intrinsic to a given fundamental physical theory, focusing on special relativity and its Newtonian limit. The starting…
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…
This Resource Letter provides some guidance on issues that arise in teaching general relativity at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Particular emphasis is placed on strategies for presenting the mathematical material needed for…
This lecture note is hopefully helpful to undergraduate and postgraduate students or beginning Ph.D students both in theoretical physics and in applied mathematics. Modern terminology in differential geometry has been discussed in the book…
The mathematical treatment and graphical representation of Special Relativity (SR) are well established, yet carry deep implications that remain hard to visualize. This paper presents a new graphical interpretation of the geometry of SR…
We provide some guidance and examples to clear up common misconceptions about special relativity. These misconceptions often come from trying to express the truths of special relativity in Newtonian terms rather than in terms more natural…
We give a critical analysis of the conceptual foundations of special relativity. We formulate a simple operational criterion for distinguishing between noninertial and inertial frames which is introduced prior to geometry. We associate the…
An elementary account of special relativity for school-children.
Whoever has to learn or to teach thermodynamics is confronted with conceptual difficulties which are specific to this field of physics ([1],[2]). It seems that they can be eliminated by inserting relativity in the thermodynamic theory. The…
We present visual calculations in special relativity using spacetime diagrams drawn on graph paper that has been rotated by 45 degrees. The rotated lines represent lightlike directions in Minkowski spacetime, and the boxes in the grid…
This article provides a gentle, visual introduction to the basic concepts of differential geometry appropriate for students familiar with special relativity. Visual methods are used to explain basics of differential geometry and build…
Students are often mystified by the reasoning that leads from the postulates of special relativity to the requirement of covariance. This is partly due to the lack of transparency resulting from the failure to clearly separate the roles the…
There is no doubt that both the special and general theories of relativity capture the imagination. The anti-intuitive properties of the special theory of relativity and its deep philosophical implications, the bizzare and dazzling…
Group theory involves the study of symmetry, and its inherent beauty gives it the potential to be one of the most accessible and enjoyable areas of mathematics, for students and non-mathematicians alike. Unfortunately, many students never…
Previous research indicates that after standard instruction students at all academic levels often construct a conceptual framework in which the ideas of absolute simultaneity and the relativity of simultaneity co-exist. This article…
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…
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…
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…
The special theory of relativity is the foundation of modern physics, but its unusual postulate of invariant vacuum speed of light results in a number of plausible paradoxes. This situation leads to radical criticisms and suspicions against…