| Length contraction conclusions |
As you see, in the amply verified, mathematically exact science of relativity, everybody draws different conclusions and a
determined skeptic ends up knocking down strawmen. If a witness observes a boy traveling at the near-c, everybody pitches
in their opinion and everybody is correct:
• Some relativists say that the Lorentz equation predicts that the boy will personally
- suffer contraction pains.
- “ Length contraction… is the decrease in length experienced by people or
objects traveling at a substantial fraction of the speed of light.” [1]
• Others predict that the boy will only have difficulties measuring distances.
- “ L1 is this distance measured by an observer travelling at velocity v.” [2]
• Yet others say that only stationary observers notice length changes of those
- who travel.
“ Where L0 is the distance travelled measured by a stationary observer” [3]
- Who knows? Maybe they are all correct. Relativity is a Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood [4] type of theory: you are special and it’s
okay to have your opinion and to be the way you are.
- “ the contraction can be measured, but the measurement is frame-dependent.
Whether that makes it ‘real’ or not has more to do with your choice of words
than the physics.” [5]
- [By sidestepping the crucial question of whether length contraction is a real physical phenomenon or just one of perceptions,
the mathematicians delegate the issue to the juror's opinion. So what have we learned?]
In relativity, everybody is always right. Mathematical Physics is a win-win discipline; no one is allowed to fail:
- “ Both sides are wrong and both sides are right.” [6]
- [Typical reply of a relativist ! ]
- So no firm conclusions can be reached about anything.
The real lesson to be learned is another one. The fact that there are such radically different physical interpretations of the
equations of relativity should indicate to you that Mathematics is not the language of Physics. If it were, the equations
would lead everyone to the same conclusions. What is more appalling is that the surrealistic claims of the mathematicians
don’t even raise eyebrows among the alleged educated elites anymore. A quote from a historian who summarized the
perception of 16th Century European intellectuals when they heard the story of Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth is a
fitting closing remark to explain the state of mind of contemporary scholars:
- “ In that age of discovery, when new wonders and novelties were disclosed every year,
not only the Spanish explorers but also men of learning accepted such stories with
childlike credulity.”[7]
| Adapted for the Internet from: Why God Doesn't Exist |
Gawking Bill
| the brother of Steven Gawking |
Is that so?
- Module main page: Relativists don't understand the difference between distance and distance-traveled
Pages in this module:
- 1. What do relativists mean by length contraction?
2. My ruler can contract, but not its length!
3. None of the three length contraction versions of relativity are rational
- a. Contraction from the traveler's perspective:
Relativists say that a speeding muon draws two mountains together
- b. Contraction from the observer's perspective:
SR contradicts GR
c. Real contraction:
We don't prove contraction with equations or experiments
- 4. This page: Length contraction conclusions
- ________________________________________________________________________________________
- Copyright © by Nila Gaede 2008