Relativity Calculator
Note: The following arises from a questioning email received from my sister, Bethie, about Relativity Calculator and my answer in return:
Dearest Bethie!
It's just Algebra.
And diagrams.
But truthfully it does defy ordinary common sense.
Think of it this way:
You're standing on the sidewalk. Ok? Ok.
Then you see someone going past you real, real fast! I mean speedily!!
Ok.
So?
Well, what do you see?
You see a guy being squeezed small, right?
Right.
Why?
'Cuz of the effects of inertia.
You know that.
You've experienced being pushed back into the car seat when speeding. Right? Right!
Ok.
But what about his watch on his wrist?
Well just like him, his watch also gets squeezed, no? Yes.
How so?
Well his watch on his wrist as you view him is not only getting squeezed smaller, but also because of the force of inertia the very hands of his watch are getting squeezed and they also don't move as fast as they do normally. Compared to you, of course. Your watch, silly. Right? Right. That is, the minute and hour hands of his watch are under stress and will not move normally and in fact will move much, much more slowly than before. Right? Right. Of course, how much slower and how much it gets squeezed is directly related to his/its speed relative to the speed of light itself.
.
.
.
A little digression:
So what's inertia? Inertia is what you feel when you go speeding around in your car and get pushed to the opposite side of your seat as the car drives and turns, turns and drives. You feel the effects of inertia just like you feel the effects of gravity in other circumstances. Right? Right. This isn't exactly saying what inertia is, not anymore than saying exactly what gravity is, but rather it's an "operational definition" for both. This is what mathematical science does all the time. Gives operational definitions, that is. In mathematics, of course. It's a language, no? ∗
.
.
.
In other words, General Relativity is all about inertia's effects of pushing and pulling, pulling and pushing, on an object ... or, a guy whizzing past you.
This watch-time thing is obvious when you think about. Oh, your watch on your wrist and the other guy's watch on his wrist at the very, very beginning just at the moment of his speeding past you are first set to the same exact time. This is something which I'm asking you to imagine. Ok? Ok!
Then as this other guy speeds past, you will see him and his watch squeezed into a smaller and smaller shape and both he and his watch will considerably slow down. From your [ relative ] stationary view point on the sidewalk, yes!
So, there!
I've just basically explained General Relativity Theory to you.
But in Special Relativity because of the predominant role of the finite speed of light in bringing messages to our eyes, there's a time lag in viewing that guy's watch speeding off with him attached, so to speak. Light to your eyes in other words is lagging behind. If the speed of light was instantaneous, then there'd be no time difference(s). Right? Right!
Therefore, because of the finite speed of light, time coming from the speeding guy's watch will inevitably be lagging behind what you see on your own watch. Remember both watches [ your's and his - why not a girl? ] were originally coordinated to the same exact moment, even though "speedo guy/gal" passed you by while you're standing [ relatively speaking ] stationary on the sidewalk.
You've got to use some thought or mind imagination here, Bethie!
So, just like when you look up at the stars, what you're really doing is looking way, way back in time as to what was coming from that star some [ relative ] time ago. Or planet. Whatever. But it's got to be something really, really far, far away and traveling at really, really high [ relative ] speeds away from you. Or me. Ha!
Got it? That's why astronomers measure distance in "light years"! And not in miles or baby steps!!
Same thing with speedo guy's/gal's watch on his/her wrist as he/she goes whizzing by.
Got it now?
The other thing about Special Relativity is the shortening of lengths of guys and gals, measuring rods and other things as they go whizzing by you at speeds approaching the speed of light. Not at speeds you go when you're late for school or something. Relativity for slim-downing or dieting, anyone? Ha!
This latter concept of Special Relativity is more difficult to explain as it involves "some jiggering" by some mathematics to explain why the speed of light is always the same in whatever direction you measure it and in fact wherever you measure it - here in Connecticut, USA or out there in far, far off space. Therefore at this point don't even think of asking about this! If you want, you can visit Relativity Calculator web site at
http://www.relativitycalculator.com/Albert_Michelson_Part_I.shtml
and continuing on successive pages in order to understand the jiggering mathematics involved.
Thought it couldn't be done, eh?
Oh, in the next lesson, I'll explain the E=mc2 thing.
Not hard. Not really.
Just some simple words, that's all.
But what's harder is to write this all out in precise mathematics. The ultimate language of science!
But the essential ideas are not that difficult to understand.
Love ya!
The Dr DonZi
contact@relativitycalculator.com
http://www.relativitycalculator.com
∗ Thumbnail history of religions and science: Relativity mathematical science doesn't come out of any Jewish or Christian bible, does it? In fact, nothing really scientific comes out of any bible, does it? Perhaps for the Old Testament there is an attempt at trying to explain the "origin of everything", this could be admitted. And the Old Testament is as much a Book of Jewish History as it is about metaphysical ontology. The New Testament does bring forth newer concepts of ethics and human values, which in itself is something worthy for our present day. But none of these religious tracts in the final analysis has anything important to say about science or mathematics, do they? On the other hand, forget about the Koran, rather that's all 'bout killing or subjugating Jews, infidel and crusader Christians, with the remainder being less than worthy Hindus, Buddhists, atheists and such. Also as an added insult to the mother religion of Islam and Christianity, Islamic adherents of the Koran speak of Jews as pigs and apes [ see Wafa Sultan: mpg4 or flash movie; also see Geert Wilders Fitna movie: mov or flash ].
Finally as regards so-called "Crusader Christians", it was the forces of Mohammed's Islam which truly began the first crusades against Christian Europe beginning in the 650s A.D. or thereabouts. It was only until Saturday, October 11th, 732 A.D. when the grandson of Charlemagne, Charles Martel, and his Frankish soldiers began the long and bloody turnabout at Poitiers, France, when the Islamic Saracen army of mounted Arabs and Berbers were roundly defeated! Other immediate victories by Charles Martel against Islamic Saracens occurred at Avignon ( 737 A.D. ) and Corbière ( 738 A.D. ). And notwithstanding the current battles against the darker forces of Islam presently raging today in the East, it was at the Siege of Vienna in 1529 by the moslem Turks under Sultan Suleiman I, in an attempt to capture the Christian city of Vienna, Austria, that best represented Islam's unremitting and continuing desire to conquer Christian Western Europe but who were ultimately defeated by a combined force of Austrian-German defenders that Vienna was finally saved on October 14th, 1529. Of course, before Suleiman's final retreat, he massacred his last remaining German-Austrian prisoners, something not unfamiliar in today's war with the Islamics. The last major defeat for Islam occurred at the Battle of Vienna when the combined Viennese armies of Poland-Austria-Germany pushed out the moslem Turks at the gates of Vienna on September 11th and 12th, 1683, and thereby both ended Islamic ambitions in Europe as well as augured into existence the Habsburg Dynasty. So speak no longer solely of Christian Crusaders but rather speak equally of those Islamic Crusaders who first began this 1400-year "Clash of Religions"!
But why bring up religion in the context of relativity mathematics? It's because of the sordid history of Judaeo - Christian attempts at suppression of science and mathematics, although this ignominy belongs primarily with the Roman Church of Western Catholicism. Nevertheless in spite of official and sanctioned Roman Catholic suppression of science and mathematics, there were notable Christian intellectuals even within the Catholic Church itself who pursued and promoted advances in mathematics, astronomy, medicine and science in general. And now imagine if the dark forces of Islam had won at Poitiers or Vienna instead of the relatively enlightened forces of Christianity! What today would be the state of science, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, literature, and even aesthetics? Science and mathematics do not after all exist in a cultural and political vacuum, do they? I think therefore you can more than easily answer this question by yourself.
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