Overview

This book offers a simple, intuitive explanation of special relativity. Rather than merely describing the implications of Einstein's postulates, we derive the consequences of special relativity from the wavelike behavior of matter, which is consistent with ordinary physical processes in Galilean spacetime. Topics covered include time dilation, length contraction, Lorentz transformations, four-vectors, and relativistic Doppler shifts. All these aspects of special relativity are direct consequences of the wave nature of matter, and do not imply any interdependence between physical space and physical time. Instead, the strange properties of measured space and measured time in special relativity are artifacts of measurement that naturally arise when using waves (including matter waves) to make measurements.. Properties of matter waves, including the de Broglie wavelength, are also analyzed. The book includes a simple handheld paper model that can be used to visually demonstrate the laws of special relativity.

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9780983778134

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Dr. Robert Close earned a BS in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD in physics from the University of California at Berkeley. He is currently retired from teaching at Clark College and Washington State University. He has published many scientific articles in the fields of plasma physics, medical imaging, and fundamental physics. His recent research, found here and at www.classicalmatter.org, offers a new paradigm for understanding modern physics based on simple mechanistic processes rather than the usual potpourri of postulates and empirical findings. Notable discoveries include simple classical physics interpretations of spin angular momentum and the quantum mechanical Dirac equation.

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