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Re: N1 vs N2



On Thu, 14 Sep 2000, John Denker wrote:

Meanwhile, N1 is tantamount to a statement of conservation of
momentum. That remains true, relativistically or otherwise.

Hmm. That sure isn't the way I see it. I would *almost* be
willing to say that N1 is tantamount to a statement of
"conservation of velocity" except that that statement so obviously
begs the question, "With respect to what do we measure that
'conserved velocity'?"

It is N3 that is equivalent to the statement of conservation of
momentum. Similarly, however, for that law to mean anything,
however, we need to know how to choose those special reference
frames in which N3 is valid. This is the purpose of N1.

John Mallinckrodt mailto:ajm@csupomona.edu
Cal Poly Pomona http://www.csupomona.edu/~ajm