scholarly journals Special relativity as an account for a “special kind” of optical illusion

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 366-368
Author(s):  
László G. Mészáros

Although Einstein’s special theory of relativity (STR) is more than a century old, the relation to reality of its predictions, such as length contraction, for instance, still seems obscure. Here, it is argued that the STR, by reason of observer-dependence and the contradicting nature of its predictions, describes a particular relationship of an observer to reality. Thus, it is concluded that the STR should be looked at as an account for a special kind of optical illusion.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-49
Author(s):  
Hamdoon A. Khan ◽  

With the consideration of the light which carries the photon particles, the Lorentz transformation was constructed with an impressive mathematical approach. But the generalization of that equation for all the velocities of the universe is direct enforcement on other things not to travel faster than light. It has created serious issues in every scientific research that was done in the last century based on the special theory of relativity. This paper replaces the velocity of light with some other velocities and shows us the possible consequences and highlights the issues of special relativity. If I travel through my past or future and was able to see another me there, who would be the real Hamdoon I or the one I see there in the past or future! If the real one is only me, the one I saw, is not me, so, I could not travel through my or someone else's past or future. Therefore, no one can travel through time. If both of us are the same, can the key of personal identity be duplicated or be separated into two or more parts? These are some of the fundamental philosophical arguments that annihilate the concept of time travel which is one of the sequels of special relativity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastin Patrick Asokan

Abstract This paper shows that from the fact that the same Reality is perceived differently by the observers in different inertial frames, we can draw a simple and straightforward explanation for the constancy of light's speed in all inertial frames without any need for bringing in paradoxical Lorentz Transformation. This paper also proves that Lorentz Transformation has failed in its attempt to do the impossible task of establishing t' ≠ t to explain the constancy of the speed of light in all inertial frames without contradicting the interchangeability of frames demanded by the First Postulate of the Special Theory of Relativity. This paper also points out the misconceptions regarding the claimed experimental verifications of Lorentz Transformation's predictions in the Hafele–Keating experiment and μ meson experiment. This paper concludes that Einstein's Special Theory Relativity can stand on its own merits without Lorentz Transformation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 263-269
Author(s):  
Özgür Özcan

Special theory of relativity is one of the difficult subjects of physics to be understood by the students. The current research designed as a qualitative research aim to determine the pre-service physics teachers’ understanding level and the alternative conceptions about three core concepts of special theory of relativity, such as time dilatation, length contraction and reference frames. The data were collected through semi structured interviews and were analyzed by using content analysis. At the end of the analysis process the understanding level of the students was determined to be “complete understanding”, “incomplete understanding” and “misunderstanding”. In order to achieve this, the students’ conceptual frameworks based on the operational definitions made by the students were determined firstly. The findings obtained in this research indicate that high school teachers as well as university instructors should take special care with some points in the teaching of the subjects related with special theory of relativity. This research might be useful to other studies to be done in the future, especially for investigating the students’ mental models related to special theory of relativity. Key words: Length contraction, reference frames, special relativity, time dilatation, understanding level.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Joseph E Brierly ◽  

This article refutes the Time Dilation Equation and Length Contraction that are derived in the Special Theory of Relativity. The conclusion reached in this article is that Time Dilation and Length Contraction cannot be characterized by simple equations due to repulsion gravity. The conclusion follows from gravity being a natural force of repulsion rather than the assumption that gravity is an attraction force. That gravity is a repulsion force follows from the Sir Arthur Eddington experiment designed to prove that gravity affects light. Few looked at that experiment as anything other than proving Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity that suggested gravity would affect light. The experiment went beyond what most imagined it accomplished. It surely verified that gravity affects light. But it did more than that. The experiment showed that gravity is a force of repulsion and not attraction as most believed. That gravity is repulsion and not an attraction force indicates that the relativity time dilation equation derived in the Special Theory of Relativity is intractably undecidable likely subject to Godels Incompleteness theorems


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Peter J. Riggs

A broader concept of “resistance to acceleration” than used in classical dynamics, called “inertial resistance”, is quantified for both inertial and non-inertial relativistic motion. Special Relativity shows that inertial resistance is more than particle inertia and originates from Minkowski spacetime structure. Current mainstream explanations of inertia do not take inertial resistance into account and are, therefore, incomplete.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Koshun Suto

In this paper, consider a rod A (inertial frame A) and rod B (inertial frame B) moving at constant velocity relative to each other. Assume that the lengths of two rods are equal when they are stationary. According to the STR, when length in the direction of motion of rod B, moving at constant velocity, is measured from inertial frame A, the rod contracts in the direction of motion. Also, the time which elapses on clock in inertial frame B is delayed compared to the time which elapses on clock in inertial frame A. If, conversely, inertial frame A is measured from inertial frame B, rod A contracts in the direction of motion, and the time which elapses on clock is delayed. However, according to classical common sense, if rod B contracts when measured from inertial frame A, then rod A measured from rod B must be longer than rod B. Thus, this paper discusses the symmetry of rod contraction, and elucidates this problem. It is found, based on the discussion in this paper, that the contraction of a rod includes true physical contraction, and relativistic contraction obtained due to measurement using the method indicated by Einstein. However, in the STR, any two inertial frames are equivalent, and therefore is not possible to accept points such as the fact that reasons for contraction are different. This paper concludes that STR is not a theory which describes the objective state of reality.


Author(s):  
Steven Savitt

Restricted to special relativity, this chapter observes that the most significant change in the concept of time is certainly the relativity of simultaneity. What events are simultaneous with some event for one observer are different from those that are simultaneous with respect to an object traveling in a different inertial frame. Many believe that this relativity can play a role in an argument for eternalism. This chapter critically surveys these arguments before taking on the implications of relativity for the metaphysics of time. It also tackles the conventionality of simultaneity. Many philosophers of science, especially during the early days of relativity, felt that simultaneity is not only relative but also conventional—there is a crucial element of choice in deciding what events are simultaneous for any other in a given inertial reference frame, so that there is no fact of the matter about what is simultaneous.


Author(s):  
O. Akindele Adekugbe Joseph

The appropriate placements of the four-dimensional spacetimes of different universes make their coexistence possible, such that corresponding points in spacetimes within the universes are not separated in space or time. The corresponding points do not touch, because they are points in separate spacetimes. The different universes are described heuristically as existing in separate spacetime ‘compartments’. This new conception of many worlds (or universes) is therefore entitled compartment worlds (or universes) in this article. Compartment universes is a potential platform for many-world interpretations and uniform formulation of the natural laws. The two-world background of the special theory of relativity (SR) (involving two compartment universes), demonstrated elsewhere, is re-interpreted as four-world background (involving four compartment universes) in this article.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
SEBASTIN PATRICK ASOKAN

Abstract This paper shows that from the fact that the same Reality is perceived differently by the observers in different inertial frames, we can draw a simple and straightforward explanation for the constancy of light's speed in all inertial frames without any need for bringing in paradoxical Lorentz Transformation. This paper shows that the premise that each inertial frame has its unique time, which Lorentz Transformation introduced to explain the constancy of the speed of light in all inertial frames is incompatible with the interchangeability of the frames, an essential requisite of the First Postulate of the Special Theory of Relativity. This paper also points out the misconceptions regarding the claimed experimental verifications of Lorentz Transformation's predictions in the Hafele–Keating experiment and μ meson experiment. This paper hints at the possibility of attributing the observed slowing down of fast-moving clocks to the Relativistic Variation of Mass with Velocity instead of Time Dilation. This paper concludes that Einstein's Special Theory Relativity can stand on its own merits without Lorentz Transformation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
John Hodge

The Special Theory of Relativity applies where gravitation is insignificant. There are many observations that remain poorly explained by the standard models of either the big of cosmology or the small of Quantum mechanics. The strength of the Scalar Theory Of Everything (STOE) is its ability to describe an extremely wide range of observations and to predict observations. Each of the STOE axioms has been used in the development of models of observations in the big and the small. The axioms that replace Special Relativity are: (1) Time is an abstraction of the duration between events causing events. (2) The diameter of the hods is the same throughout the universe. (3) The distance between hods is related to plenum density. Higher reduces the distance between hods. (4) The speed of photons and hods (light) is the greatest of any matter in a given environment. (5) The speed of the plenum wave is much faster than the speed of the hods. The STOE passes the tests of Special Relativity and does much more. The STOE is a major paradigm shift.


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