Differing angles/directions in SR

James Sullivan · is under review Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 5

When differing angles/directions are factored into the Lorentz transformation, working with more than one light beam example at a time gives you different extents of relativistic effects such as time dilation- differing degrees that must be applied to one frame.

Eugene Shubert · Posted: Sat Oct 25, 2003 11:36 am Post subject:

Hi James,

Welcome to the forum. I moved your comment here because I don't understand it and because it has no bearing on Non-Canonical Lorentz Transformations, which I do understand.

James Sullivan · is under review Joined: 25 Oct 2003 Posts: 5

Hi Eugene,

Thanks for the welcome. Interesting forum.

The issue I raised seems to me to effect all LT variations, or rather, the core concepts of SR: time dilation, length contraction, the relativity of simultaneity etc.

The idea behind my statement is that the pre-Einsteinian "theorem of addition of velocities" was obviously incapable of being reconciled to the experiments that established the constant speed of light, and that in accordance with the geometrical fact that composite velocities are dependant on a) the two velocities involved, b) the relative angles/directions of the two velocities involved.

This is ignored in SR, and in many LT variations. However, in the LT variations that do factor the direction, the realisation has not yet hit the physics camp that in order to reconcile the constant speed of light from all directions relative to the observer in motion at v, differing extents of time dilation and relativistic effects are required for each angle from the spherical degree set. This is the case PoR or not.

In other words, if the speed of light travelling towards the front of our observer v requires time to slow down in order to reconcile to remaining c, then time needs to speed up in order to reconcile light travelling towards the back of our observer.

Most relativists either cannot see this point, or if they do remotely see it, they put it down to Euclidean bias- but it is a geometrical truth and has not been answered by any physicist on the planet.

It is quite simple: direction and velocity were relevant when the initial problem was presented- of light speed constancy being incompatible with the theorem of the addition of velocities- but it is dropped out of the scope when the solution of time dilation is presented in SR.

Time dilation will effect the percieved speed of all light relative to the observer v, and this will not be constant c anymore than it is without time dilation- except in the one specific case in the standard LT: where v and c take place on one plane/dimension relative to each other. ie, both in x- and in opposite and approaching directions.

Cheers,

James