Light clock in motion

This post builds on the post about the Michelson-Morley experiment here. Compare the light clock in the “Derivation of time dilation” (e.g., here). A light clock is a thought experiment in which a light beam reflects back and forth between two parallel mirrors that are a distance D apart (see figure below). When the light […]

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Dilation of time or distance

The common justification for time dilation in the special theory of relativity goes like this: (Sacamol, CC BY-SA 4.0) From Wikipedia: In the frame in which the clock is at rest (see left part of the diagram), the light pulse traces out a path of length 2L and the period of the clock is 2L divided by

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Newtonian mechanics generalized

This post is based on Mathematical Aspects of Classical and Celestial Mechanics, Third Edition by Vladimir I. Arnold, Valery V. Kozlov, and Anatoly I. Neishtadt (Springer 2006). Here it is generalized to (3 + 3) dimensions. Motion takes place in two spaces that are three-dimensional and Euclidean with a fixed orientation. Denote them by E3

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Invariance of round-trip speed

The mean round-trip speed, as in simple harmonic motion, is Galilean invariant. There are two senses in which this is the case: (1) the time is the same in both directions, and (2) the distance covered is the same in both directions. In the first case, the mean round-trip speed equals the arithmetic mean of

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Science and naturalism

The purpose of science is to discover laws, which are then applied to predict and explain phenomena, develop technology, and make things. This occurs through a cycle of material induction and formal deduction. Induction consists of making observations, defining terms, and proposing postulates. Deduction consists of taking the terms and definitions from induction, possibly with

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Dual Euclidean transformations

Dual Euclidean transformations are required to transform six dimensions of length and duration: one Euclidean transformation for length space with time and one Euclidean transformation for duration space with distance. The two Euclidean transformations are: x′ = x − vt and z′ = z − ws where x and x′ are length space vectors, t

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Squares of opposition

The traditional Aristotelian square of opposition is like that of first-order logic apart from existential import: Or in words: Outer negation is the contradictory, i.e., affirm/deny, and inner negation is the contrary, i.e., all/none. For quantifiers (or other operators) there is a duality square: Outer negation is negation of the whole quantifier; inner negation is

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Uniform rate of the rate of change

The Merton Rule, which dates to the Middle Ages, relates a uniform change rate to its initial and final rates. Because of its main application, it is also called the Mean Speed Theorem, which in modern language states that a uniformly accelerating body over a period of time traverses the same distance as the product

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