Re: Length Contraction

[Ludwik Kowalski <KowalskiL@MAIL.MONTCLAIR.EDU>]

Jack Uretsky wrote:

> Hi all-
>         Leigh's response emphasizes the point that <within the logical
> framework of special relativity> length contraction implies time dilation
> and vice-versa.  This equivalence is evident in the Lorentz
> transformations of space and time.
>         It is nevertheless a fair question, in my opinion, to ask for
> independent experimental verification of both predictions.
>         The only experimental verification of length contraction, of which
> I'm aware, comes from the indirect measurements of the interaction regions
> in collisions of heavy nuclei at Cern and elsewhere.  Those data can be
> interpreted to show "flattening of the nuclei" along the collision axis.

Was this an experiment specifically designed to independently
observe the length contraction? How did they measure the
"interaction regions"?

A collision must must be very peripheral to preserve the target
nucleus. How did researchers know, WITHOUT LEANING
ON SPECIAL RELATIVITY, that target nuclei flatten in the
frame of projectiles? Can flattening be deduced from the analysis
of the Coulomb scattering cross sections? Probably not.
Ludwik Kowalski