Re: Causation in Physics: F=ma /correction

[Stephen Speicher <stephen@SPEICHER.COM>]

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003, Brian Whatcott wrote:

> I anadvertently continued with the word "resulting" in a proposition.   ***
> Sorry. Here is the amended text.
>
> At 02:34 AM 11/15/2003, Stephen Speicher, you wrote:
>  >[ Brian Whatcott]
>  > > Supposing I can point to a causal event that is simultaneous
>  > > with a resulting event in some frame,
>
>  >"Supposing" such is a contradiction of special relativity --
>  >there cannot be a causal connection between space-like events.
>
> Supposing that the word "causal" is problematic to Relativists,

But causality is _not_ problematic in special relativity, as
witnessed by John W. Schutz' "Independent axioms ..." reference
which I previously gave. With full mathematical rigor, Schutz
establishes the Causality theorem and deduces the properties of a
partial order relation. In this reference no assumptions are made
about causality and the direction of time -- the Causality
theorem is itself a consequence of twenty-five preceding axioms.
One cannot get more fundamental than developing Minkowski
spacetime from a complete set of independent axioms "stated in
terms of a single relation of intermediacy or betweenness."
Hardly deserving of being called "problematic."

--
Stephen
stephen@speicher.com

Ignorance is just a placeholder for knowledge.

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