The arithmetic basis of special relativity

Special Relativity

References 43 Index 45 ii Preface For me, the wonder of special relativity lies in its successful prediction of interesting and very nonintuitive phenomena from simple arguments with simple premises. These notes have three (perhaps ambitious) aims: (a) to introduce undergraduates to special relativity from its founding principle to its varied consequences, (b) to serve as a reference for those ...

The Language of Special Relativity

The Special Theory of Relativity is often interpreted as forcing us to accept a conceptual revolution in our thinking about space, time, and the temporal distinction between past, present, and future. Most importantly, it is claimed that the notion of absolute simultaneity that is embodied in our pre-relativistic thinking about time must be abandoned. Thus, our natural language use of linguisti...

Special Relativity

Inertial frames are frames related by a constant velocity along any axis. An object is at rest in an inertial frame when its position in space does not change with time. We consider two inertial frames: the 26-100 (S) frame in which we are at rest and the Space Shuttle frame (S ′) which moves relative to S with a velocity u along the x axis and in which the Shuttle is at rest. Newton postulated...

The Special Theory of Relativity

Tensors and Special Relativity

While you have probably used tensors of rank 1, i.e vectors, in special relativity, relativity is most efficiently expressed in terms of tensor algebra. General relativity, however, requires tensor algebra in a general curvilinear coordinate system. Before discussing special relativity, it will be useful to introduce some of the mathematics of differential forms in a general curvilinear set of ...