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[Damo2600]

Hi guys,

I know this is a long post but this is my conclusion on The Theory of
Relativity which you don't have to read.



The Theory of Special Relativity for the Totally Confused Beginner

By Josephine Sage



Chapter 1 - What is the Theory of Special Relativity




Part 1/ Relativity in Gallilean Terms




A drunk in the bar, no matter how drunk he is, realises with
certainty that if someone throws a peanut at him it will take some
time before it actually hits him. If you see a woodcutter at a
distance there is a brief moment before the sound hits you. So we
realise sound travels at a certain speed. Finally light, travelling
from stars billions of miles away, has it's own delay between the
time the signal is sent and the time that it is recieved.

In gallilean terms we can register this logic in our own reference
frames.Although 300 000km/s is too fast for us to notice the effects
in our everyday life. If I am travelling on a train and a friend were
to be waving me off at the station there would be a time difference
between the first wave and the second wave. The distance is growing
so the light has further to go between each wave. The longer I travel
in a straight line, at a constant speed, the waves will be a constant
slower speed than the stationary observer. If I were accelerating the
time between each wave will become acceleratingly slower. This is
my 'friends waving' analogy.




Part 2/ Relativity According to Einstien




If we take a look into Einstien's world we see that time appears to
do many things our mind cannot comprehend. The speed of light is
astronomically fast which makes it even more difficult to grasp the
concept of relativity. For a moment, during this paper at least, we
will slow the speed of light down. We will make the velocity of light
equal to 4 metres per second. A bite size mouthful our brains can
chew.

Now we will have two obsevers OA and OB. OA will be stationed on the
platform and OB will be sitting on a train travelling at 2 metres per
second. Next to each observer will be two mirrors, two metres apart.
The light will travel, between the two mirrors, perpendicularly to
the ground. For ease we will title them LA (light A) and LB (light
B). We will compare each event by the two observers watches. In my
own working out of the Theory of Special Relativity I drew this
situation on a peice of paper many times and stared at the drawing in
order to understand what was happening in both reference frames. (I
might suggest that you do the same as a reference for reading this
paper.)

First we will consider the observations of OA: It will take LA one
second to complete it's full journey between the two mirrors and
reflect all the way back. The second light LB should be travelling in
the shape of an isoceles triangle in gallilean terms. According to OB
the LB travels for a 1/2 second, 2.236 metres down, then another 1/2
second, 2.236 metres up, and in one second the train travels 2m.
Considering the 'friends waving' analogy we logically would think
this journey of LB, according to OA, should take longer than LA.
Einstien understood for OA, due to time dilation and length
contraction, LB should take an equal 1 second. Einstien concluded
that time must be slowing down for OB in order for him to return an
equal 1 second time of LB.

So here we have our first difficulty in comprehension of Einstiens
theory. According to the 'friends waving' analogy time would ONLY
appear to be slowing down, for both observers, yet Einstien states
that two different observers are seeing the same light at exactly the
time. So we must have two different clock speeds, observing the speed
of light, in order for light to remain the constant it is considered
to be. We may decide due to length contraction that light appears to
be travelling straight up and down. That does not make sense, to the
logical mind, because appearances aside the distance is still
becoming larger between OA and OB. So here we have the obvious choice
that time on the train is slowing down.

Someone offered the suggestion to me that light actually is
travelling two different distances at two equal time speeds. I can
respect their comment, however, it is the same as the previous
statement whereby time slows down merely in reverse.



Part 3/ Length Contraction in Gallilean Terms



We all know that a full moon looks flat. How can this be? If we were
moving away from a ball the light from the closest point of the ball
will hit us first and, due to the movement of the train, the light at
the furthest point, at the circumference, should hit us later. Our
logical mind tells us this. However the length contraction Einstien
suggests we should think that the light from the circumference should
hit us much sooner than our logical mind says.

In gallilean terms the time should slow down yet the ball should
appear longer. Animation on TV seems to think that objects should
appear longer. When you slow down highspeed objects on camera footage
the object appears to elongate and not contract. Here we have another
contradiction between our logical mind and relativity.

Our minds should surely be spinning by now. I will leave this for now
and get back to the issue of time.



Part 4/ How Special Relativity and Gallilean Relativity Are Unrelated



In the 'friends waving' analogy if someone is moving away relative to
you their time will appear to SLOW down. In Einstien's theory if
someone is moving away relative to you their time will appear to SLOW
down. Sounds like we are discusing the same issue here. In
the 'friends waving' analogy if someone is moving closer to you their
time will appear to SPEED* up. In Einstien's theory if someone is
moving closer relative to you their time will appear not to SPEED up.
(*By this I mean that at a distance your time will be a slower time
speed due to the distance light has to travel.) We certainly have
found another discrepancy our logical mind will not let go of.

If you speed toward an object then your time and the time of the
distant object are coming into line. In galillean terms the
acceleration will make the oncoming object appear to speed up (from a
slower time speed) and deceleration would also basically mean time
will also speed up from a slower clock speed. When you stop next to
the object your clock will tick at the same rate as the stationary
clock. This is true whether your clocks agree or not. This last
statement appears to be true of Special Relativity aswell.

We are getting to the crux of the matter. In relativity the problem
we have in understanding is in the object moving toward you at a
constant speed. The issue is far from being resolved.

Now, according to *you* stationed on the platform, you will observe
time, according to the train, moving from a slower time speed to
a 'slightly faster' slower time speed at a constant rate. This is
true of Gallilean Relativity. At the point where you are next to the
train your time will tick at almost the same rate as the train's
clock and will begin to slow down as the train passes you once more.
So we can understand relativity in the 'friends waving' analogy.'

The same situation in reverse is:

If you pass a clock at a train station you will notice on a very fine
level that the clock ticks are almost the same as your clock. When
you approach the station clock time will appear to speed up. When you
pass the clock time will appear to slow down once again.



Part 5/ Contradictions in Special Relativity and Gallilean Relativity
Arise



We now understand relativity in gallilean terms however we do not
understand the contradictions of time dilation and length
contraction. How does LA and LB have the exact same 1 second speed
for both observers, OA and OB, attempting to do both calculations?

So we have the 'friends waving' analogy and the Einstienian theory.
The 'friends waving' analogy works both ways for the logical mind.
The Einstien theory only works one way because if time is actually
slowing down for OB then how can it also slow down in the reverse
situation. The mind boggles to comprehend this. For OA to measure LA
to be 1 second then how can OB, whilst experiencing a slower time
speed, observe LA to be 1 second as well.

To solve this problem we 'could' say that time for both observers is
slowing down but this would bring us back 'full circle' to the
problem we had in the first place. In this case both observers are
experiencing the same reference frame time although at different
distances apart.

So now we suggest another option perhaps the time slows down only
when we are looking at the light moving relative to us. Perhaps this
is not as absurd as it sounds. We can conclusively dispel this
option, though, due to the fact that if two observers, situated on
the platform, were recording the elapsed time of LA and LB from the
same clock the elapsed times would need to be unequal. Our mind is
obviously troubled on many levels.

The extra 'special' absurdity this theory contains is that if both
observers, OA and OB, calculate the time of both LA and LB for an
hour then all four calculations would equal 360 minutes and LA and LB
would have bounced exactly the same amount of times yet travelled
uneven distances. This goes against the 'friends waving' analogy in
an extremely wierd way. This suggests that no matter how fast the
train is travelling, for OA and OB, then there will be no delay
between the time it takes to observe LB and LA respectively and
reversedly. This would further suggest that the clock speed for both
observers would have to be equal.

Unfortunately it somehow equates to 'magic'.

I have been assured that this theory of Einstien's has been proven on
many occasions and that to this day it is still being proven. Yet if
we try to understand how this works we come up with a situation that
contradicts the physical nature of light taking time to travel over
distances. I have been rebuked on many occasions and told that I am
assuming an absolute reference frame. With my constant attempts at
trying to see the mental experiment without the absolute gallilean
reference frame the theory still remains contradictory.

So what does the logical mind do with this?

In Gallilean terms all times are accounted for and Special Relativity
does not account for all time. We will discuss this further in Part 6.



Part 6/ The Connection between length Contraction and Time Dilation.



Einstien uses the intrinsic connection, between length Contraction
and Time Dilation, in the following case in order to explain this:

OA and OB each time both LA and LB for one hour. We return with four
360 second times recording 360 trips that LA and LB make. So we will
throw off the Gallilean blanket with it's absolute reference frame
and see what happens. For OA he experiences time dilation and length
contraction with regard to LA. The mix of the above shortening of
time and space suggests that the LB could return a value of 360 trips
regardless of movement. This means that the distance between OA and
the train appears shorter and the time experienced by OB appears
shorter. We can see the logic in that.

So the isoceles triangle is closer to a straight line up and down.
Let us now suggest that in OA's time, for the rest of the isoceles
triangle, light appears to be going faster for OA and slower for OB.
Forget the absurdity of this. Let us state that the reverse is true
as well for OB. OA sees the train as shorter and OB sees the platform
as shorter.

So now we have an equal time for all observers regardless of
distance, direction or velocity. IT's absurd we know it however we
are assured emphatically and empirically this is true. Somewhere
along the line spacetime and our logical mind is playing tricks on
us. We can test the difference. We can measure the difference. But it
is impossible for the logical mind to understand the difference.

Our logical mind suggests it's impossible. Special Relativity says it
is 'actual'. Gallilean Relativity is an approximation whereas Special
Relativity is reality.

This is my first chapter in understanding Relativity for beginers the
next chapter will be entitled 'Testing the Theory of Relativity'.


Thank you
Josephine Sage