Related papers: Special Relativity properties from Minkowski diagr…
Many different mathematical languages have been invented to describe the ideas of Einstein's special relativity. One of the most powerful languages is the Minkowski space-time algebra of D. Hestenes. We discuss the ideas of special…
A new simplified approach for teaching electromagnetism is presented using the formalism of geometric algebra (GA) which does not require vector calculus or tensor index notation, thus producing a much more accessible presentation for…
Einstein's general relativity is increasingly important in contemporary physics on the frontiers of both the very largest distance scales (astrophysics and cosmology) and the very smallest(elementary particle physics). This paper makes the…
Deformed Special Relativity (DSR) is obtained by imposing a maximal energy to Special Relativity and deforming the Lorentz symmetry (more exactly the Poincar\'e symmetry) to accommodate this requirement. One can apply the same procedure…
Quantum theory is often regarded as challenging to learn and teach, with advanced mathematical prerequisites ranging from complex numbers and probability theory to matrix multiplication, vector space algebra and symbolic manipulation within…
Notes prepared for the introductory general relativity course PHYSICS 748 at The University of Auckland. They are designed to introduce general relativity to upper-year undergraduate students directly using the modern language 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…
The complex relationship between Einstein's second postulate and the Maxwell electromagnetic theory is elucidated. A simple deduction of the main results of the Ignatowski approach to the theory of relativity is given. The peculiar status…
Highly successful students, as measured by grades and by scores on the Force Concept Inventory, still struggle with fundamental concepts in mathematics and physics. These difficulties, which turn physics into parrot learning and include…
The development of Information and Communication Technologies suggests some spectacular changes in the methods used for teaching scientific subjects. Nowadays, the development of software and hardware makes it possible to simulate processes…
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 century ago, Einstein formulated his elegant and elaborate theory of General Relativity, which has so far withstood a multitude of empirical tests with remarkable success. Notwithstanding the triumphs of Einstein's theory, the tenacious…
Locality of interactions is an essential ingredient of Special Relativity. Recently, a new framework under the name of relative locality \cite{AmelinoCamelia:2011bm} has been proposed as a way to consider Planckian modifications of the…
We show that the Schwarzschild solution can be embedded in a class of nonstandard solutions of the vacuum Einstein's equations with arbitrary rotation curves. These nonstandard solutions have to be taken as physical if dark matter as needed…
In this article, we present several apparent paradoxes of special relativity and their respective solutions. These paradoxes have appeared since the advent of relativity in 1905, and in fact they are never paradoxes. From a didactic point…
We attempt to see how closely we can formally obtain the planetary and light path equations of General Relativity by employing certain operations on the familiar Newtonian equation. This article is intended neither as an alternative to nor…
An overview is provided of the singularity theorems in cosmological contexts at a level suitable for advanced graduate students. The necessary background from tensor and causal geometry to understand the theorems is supplied, the…
Doubly special relativity has been studied for the last twenty years as a way to go beyond the special relativistic kinematics, trying to capture residual effects of a quantum gravity theory. In particular, in doubly special relativity the…
Almost all theories of physics have expressed physical laws by means of differential equations. One can ask: why differential equations? What is special about them? This article addresses these questions and is presented as an inquiry-based…
It continues to be alleged that superluminal influences of any sort would be inconsistent with special relativity for the following three reasons: (i) they would imply the existence of a distinguished' frame; (ii) they would allow the…