Petkov Relativity and the Nature of Spacetime
1. Auflage 2006
ISBN: 978-3-540-27700-2
Verlag: Springer
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark
E-Book, Englisch, 300 Seiten, Web PDF
Reihe: Physics and Astronomy (R0)
ISBN: 978-3-540-27700-2
Verlag: Springer
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark
This is not a typical book on relativity. It puts the emphasis on conceptual questions: Why is there no such thing as absolute motion? What is the physical meaning of relativity of simultaneity? But, the most important question that is addressed in this book is "what is the nature of spacetime?" or, equivalently, "what is the dimensionality of the world at the macroscopic level?" The answer to this question is developed via a thorough analysis of relativistic effects and explicitly asking whether the objects involved in those effects are three-dimensional or four-dimensional. This analysis clearly shows that if the world and the physical objects were three-dimensional, none of the kinematic relativistic effects and the experimental evidence supporting them would be possible. The implications of this result for physics, philosophy, and our entire world view are discussed.
Zielgruppe
Research
Autoren/Hrsg.
Weitere Infos & Material
On the Impossibility of Detecting Uniform Motion.- Exploring the Internal Logic of Galileo’s Principle of Relativity.- Relativity in Euclidean Space and in Spacetime.- Relativity and the Dimensionality of the World: Spacetime Is Real.- Quantum Mechanics and the Nature of Spacetime.- The Nature of Spacetime and Validity of Scientific Theories.- Propagation of Light in Non-Inertial Reference Frames.- Calculating the Electric Field of a Charge in a Non-Inertial Reference Frame.- Inertia as a Manifestation of the Reality of Spacetime.
