Tagged Questions

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1answer
104 views

The definition of Lorentz transformation

I know that the Lorentz transformation, when two frames $\mathcal{S}$ and $\mathcal{S}'$ are in standard configuration (the axes are all parallel to their counterparts in the other inertial frame) is ...
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2answers
105 views

How big is an inertial frame?

How big is an inertial frame? Consider a huge rod which is rotating about a fixed point in a plane, its length is 1 light year. Thus light from its end closer to the fixed point to the end farther ...
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2answers
111 views

Inertial Frames of Reference - Description of an Inertial Frame of Reference

An inertial frame of reference is described as being a frame of reference in which the first law of Newton (the law of inertia) holds. This means that all events as described with respect to this ...
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2answers
61 views

Why does isotropy principle require existence of inertial transformation when axes are reversed?

Assuming one spatial and one termporal dimension, let's assume an intertial transformation $A(v)$ as follows: $$ \begin{pmatrix} t' \\ x' \\ \end{pmatrix} = A(v) \begin{pmatrix} t \\ x \\ ...
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4answers
356 views

The definition of an inertial reference frame in Einstein's relativity

I'm reading Sean Carroll's book on general relativity, and I have a question about the definition of an inertial reference frame. In the first chapter that's dedicated to special relativity, the ...
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1answer
109 views

Accelerating expansion of universe - entire universe a non-inertial frame of reference?

If the expansion of the universe is accelerating, doesn't that mean that the entire universe is a non-inertial frame of reference? And if so, what implications does this have (if any)?
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1answer
72 views

Is it best to look at light as a particle when trying to understand special relativity?

So my course about special relativity explains time dilation using a moving train, where one sends up (i.e. perpendicular to the direction of movement) a light pulse which gets reflected etc. (a ...
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1answer
114 views

Galileo's dictum and how light cannot violate it

Okay. So I've been told that the speed of light is constant and cannot violate Galileo's dictum, but even if it weren't constant (in a vacuum), how would it violate it anyway? Say you are on a train ...
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2answers
245 views

Using Lorentz Invariance of Charge To Calculate Current Density

I'm attempting a problem from Zwiebach: A First Course in String Theory and am completely stuck. Could anyone give me a hint? The problem is as follows. Consider $S$, $S'$ two Lorentz frames with ...
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2answers
666 views

Does the speed of light vary in noninertial frames?

The speed of light is the same in all inertial frames. Does it change from a non-inertial frame to another? Can it be zero? If it is not constant in non-inertial frames, is it still bounded from ...
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1answer
75 views

In what subfields and how fare can the “naive limit” of special relativity be carried?

Even if many interesting similarities between the classical and the quantum mechanical framework have been worked out, e.g. in the subject of deformation quantization, in general, there are some ...
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3answers
795 views

Is acceleration relative?

A while back in my Dynamics & Relativity lectures my lecturer mentioned that an object need not be accelerating relative to anything - he said it makes sense for an object to just be accelerating. ...
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5answers
165 views

Will a warm body naturally slowdown?

Suppose a warm body moving in an empty space with high speed. The body emits radiation based on its temperature. The protons emitted forwards of the body will have higher energy due to Doppler shift ...
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2answers
186 views

Why is $c$ considered as the speed of the photons?

Maxwell equations brought $\ c_{o}=\frac{1}{\sqrt{\mu_{o}\varepsilon_{o}}}\ $. Since this is a constant, it made all physicists at that time wonder where was the frame of reference? They ended up with ...
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2answers
126 views

frames of reference [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Help Me Gain an Intuitive Understanding of Lorentz Contraction Frames k and k' are inertial frames. Frame k' is moving at a velocity of magnitude v relative to frame k ...
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4answers
753 views

Inertial frames of reference

I'm struggling with the notion of an inertial frame of reference. I suspect my difficulty lies with the difference between Newtonian and relativistic inertial frames, but I can't see it. I've read ...
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2answers
487 views

Galilean transformation in relativity

Assume flat spacetime in a general relativistic framework (or special relativity for that matter) and two observers $A$ and $B$, with non-vanishing velocity relative to each other. We know that they ...
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2answers
390 views

Can an “absolute” frame of reference be determined by measuring the compression of light?

General relativity tells us that there is no absolute frame of reference (actually, it tells us that all frames are relative, which is close but not the same as there is no absolute frame). Special ...
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1answer
226 views

What happens to speed and frequency of a light beam moving in transparent medium when observed from different inertial frame of reference?

Suppose a transparent medium where speed of light is $c/n$, an inertial frame of reference $K$ which is stationary relatively to the medium and an inertial frame of reference $K'$ which is moving ...
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13answers
1k views

What are the mechanics by which Time Dilation and Length Contraction occur?

What are the mechanics of time dilation and length contraction? Going beyond the mathematical equations involving light and the "speed limit of the universe", what is observed is merely a phenomenon ...
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4answers
883 views

What does a frame of reference mean in terms of manifolds?

Because of my mathematical background, I've been finding it hard to relate the physics-talk I've been reading, with mathematical objects. In (say special) relativity, we have a Lorentzian manifold, ...
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4answers
1k views

Newton's Bucket

Newton's Bucket This thought experiment is originally due to Sir Isaac Newton. We have a sphere of water floating freely in an opaque box in intergalactic space, held together by surface tension and ...
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6answers
1k views

What determines which frames are inertial frames?

I understand that you can (in principle) measure whether "free particles" (no forces) experience accelerations in order to tell whether a frame is inertial. But fundamentally, what determines which ...