Preface
Light somewhat like sound.
Sound somewhat like light.
Ernst Mach.
Can one really comprehend the Special Theory of Relativity (SRT) the same way
we understand the mechanics of automobiles and bicycles? In order to explain
Special Relativity, the physicist calls upon the universal constancy of the speed of
light. This constancy is an indisputable certainty of the almighty Einsteinian
principle of relativity, if applied to MAXWELL’S electrodynamics. Considering this
fact, every objection against the theory, however resourceful and shrewd, breaks
down miserably. Finally, the inquirer submits and withdraws, unhappy about the
fact that he has to leave the elementary cognition of his existence in space and time
in the hands of specialists. Do we just have to get used to the merciless consequences of irrefutable principles? Sometimes one gets an uneasy feeling that we
could be made to believe that an X is a U. Are we supposed to comfort ourselves
with the recognition, comprehension is a process of accustomisation? Should it then
make a difference to adapt to either everyday experiences or logical consequences
of principles? Are not logical consequences more reliable than everyday experiences? However, what happens if the principles themselves break down?
This book will introduce an alternative representation of EINSTEIN’S Special Theory
of Relativity. We believe that we can make Special Relativity much more comprehensible. Moreover, surprisingly, we will come across a fundamental relationship
between the Special Theory of Relativity and the mechanics of a space lattice.
In all previous formulations, the EINSTEINian special principle of relativity, in one
or the other form, is used as the starting point for Special Relativity. In correspondence to this principle, one takes it for granted a priori that all observers
independent of their uniform motion to each other measure one and the same
propagation velocity of a light signal. Notice that here the definition of simultaneity
for the uniform moving frames is assumed with the help of exactly this velocity of
light. The rest constitutes unavoidable consequences: Moving clocks go behind,
lengths shorten when moving and inertial masses increase.
v
Light somewhat like sound.
Sound somewhat like light.
Ernst Mach.
Can one really comprehend the Special Theory of Relativity (SRT) the same way
we understand the mechanics of automobiles and bicycles? In order to explain
Special Relativity, the physicist calls upon the universal constancy of the speed of
light. This constancy is an indisputable certainty of the almighty Einsteinian
principle of relativity, if applied to MAXWELL’S electrodynamics. Considering this
fact, every objection against the theory, however resourceful and shrewd, breaks
down miserably. Finally, the inquirer submits and withdraws, unhappy about the
fact that he has to leave the elementary cognition of his existence in space and time
in the hands of specialists. Do we just have to get used to the merciless consequences of irrefutable principles? Sometimes one gets an uneasy feeling that we
could be made to believe that an X is a U. Are we supposed to comfort ourselves
with the recognition, comprehension is a process of accustomisation? Should it then
make a difference to adapt to either everyday experiences or logical consequences
of principles? Are not logical consequences more reliable than everyday experiences? However, what happens if the principles themselves break down?
This book will introduce an alternative representation of EINSTEIN’S Special Theory
of Relativity. We believe that we can make Special Relativity much more comprehensible. Moreover, surprisingly, we will come across a fundamental relationship
between the Special Theory of Relativity and the mechanics of a space lattice.
In all previous formulations, the EINSTEINian special principle of relativity, in one
or the other form, is used as the starting point for Special Relativity. In correspondence to this principle, one takes it for granted a priori that all observers
independent of their uniform motion to each other measure one and the same
propagation velocity of a light signal. Notice that here the definition of simultaneity
for the uniform moving frames is assumed with the help of exactly this velocity of
light. The rest constitutes unavoidable consequences: Moving clocks go behind,
lengths shorten when moving and inertial masses increase.
v