The following derivations are based on the exposition by G. G. Lombardi here. Time Dilation A clock is made by sending a pulse of light toward a mirror at a distance L and back to a receiver. Each “tick” is a round-trip to the mirror and back. The clock is shown at rest in the […]
The idea of a linear clock was mentioned before here, here, and here. Consider two bars or rods, one on top of the other (left), each with a zero point aligned at first. The top one moves at a constant rate relative to the other, which is at rest. After a time T, the top
One type of information is surprise. If a message is surprising, then it is news and informative to the extent that it is new or unexpected. The opposite of this is the ordinary and expected, which can be filtered out like the carrier of a signal. This type of information is measured by entropy: the
A rigid rod or other device that measures length is at rest relative to itself, even if part moves such as a measuring wheel (or surveyor’s wheel), because it moves relative to other objects, not relative to itself. A concept of simulstanceous enables an observer to determine length at other times (e.g., they are the
There are several ways of understanding the time of remote events. What follows is a summary of the basic ways of determining simultaneity. As a way of comparing the different ways consider transmitting a light signal to a remote location where it is reflected back. What is the time when the signal is reflected back?
A reference frame is in principle a rigid structure embodying a 3D coordinate system. It represents an observer at rest with complete access to rods and clocks to measure length and duration in any direction: Such a reference frame may be the framework or infrastructure for a reference probe moving like a miniature aerial tram
The Christian doctrine of creation declares that the reason there is something and not nothing is because God created something ex nihilo, out of nothing, and that is what it means to say that God is the Creator. This is the primary creation, since the secondary creation such as the birth of new organisms occurs
I’ve written about this before, here. The old monarchies are as much about a geographic region as they are about a people. There is a strong identification of people and place. It’s the king of France, not the king of the French, though both are correct. The patriotic song God Save the Queen (or King),
Albert Einstein’s book Relativity: The Special and General Theory was originally published in German and translated into English in 1920. In the second chapter he introduces “The System of Co-ordinates”. The following post gives Einstein’s text followed by a revision that exchanges length with duration and space with time. First, Einstein’s text, with alternative wordings
Societies have an intellectual hierarchy reflected in their academic hierarchy that exhibit their scale of concepts and values. There are basically three groups of intellectual disciplines: the study of divinity (theology), the humanities, and the sciences. There are six possible ways of ordering these three, which shows the intellectual state of a society. (1) Theology,
