Re: [Phys-l] The behavior of light

["Richard Tarara" <rbtarara@sprynet.com>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Denker" <jsd@av8n.com>
> *) Let's assume _uniform_ motion.  No acceleration.  That is,
> let's not get this mixed up with the infamous twins, one of
> whom is _accelerated_.
>   http://www.av8n.com/physics/twins.htm

But John, where's the fun in this?  It IS the twins that fascinate people, 
and yes we get into accelerations here, but to me the fascination of SR is 
the idea that by taking a trip at high speed and returning, I can 
effectively travel into the future.  Be alive 1000 years from now.  It is 
the possibility (however slight from a practical point of view) that 
individuals could make trips of hundreds or thousands of light years in 
spite of the limitation of the speed of light that inspires.  You can call 
it geometric projections if you want, but those fast moving mesons live long 
enough to get to the earth's surface despite a half-life classically too 
short to do so.  The 'moving clocks run slow' relative to certain observers 
should not be lost from the intro physics texts and replaced with space/time 
geometry which is 'fun' to far too few.

;-)

Rick