OOOPS!
" events occurring at x' = 0, the origin of the unprimed observer"
should read:
" events occurring at x' = 0, the origin of the PRIMED observer"
Bob Sciamanda (W3NLV)
Physics, Edinboro Univ of PA (em)
trebor@velocity.net http://www.velocity.net/~trebor
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Sciamanda" <trebor@VELOCITY.NET>
To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
Sent: Friday, June 06, 2003 9:33 AM
Subject: Re: Teaching logic is urgent (the only reasonable
transformations)
| You have made the same error: combining equations restricted to certain
| events and interpreting the result as applying to a wider set of events.
| Your "plug and chug" conclusion { t' = (pv + q)t } is applicable only to
| events occurring at x' = 0, the origin of the unprimed observer. This
is
| in compliance with the Lorentz transformation.
|
| As I said in my private e-mail (and on the list) I have no time to
| continue this. Your repetitive error is simple and easily understood.
| Take a long time out and ponder carefully what your equations mean.
|
| Bob Sciamanda (W3NLV)
| Physics, Edinboro Univ of PA (em)
| trebor@velocity.net
| http://www.velocity.net/~trebor
| ----- Original Message -----
| From: "Pentcho Valev" <pvalev@BAS.BG>
| To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
| Sent: Friday, June 06, 2003 4:09 AM
| Subject: Re: Teaching logic is urgent (the only reasonable
| transformations)
|
|
| | Bob, you are right that /5/ below applies to those events that occur
at
| x=0 and in
| | this sense my argument is inconclusive, but this still does not mean
| that the
| | x-containing term in Lorentz second equation is legitimate. Let us
first
| see what
| | "event" means. There is at least one case in special relativity in
which
| "event" is
| | reliably defined. For the front of a beam starting at the origin
| (x=x'=t=t'=0) and
| | moving along the x-axis Einstein postulates (x=ct <-> x'=ct'), i.e. in
| this case the
| | event is the movement of the front of a beam. To avoid confusion,
| further I shall
| | deal with the movement of the front of a beam only.
| | For a beam starting at the origin and moving along the y'-axis
(on
| the train)
| | we obviously have x' = 0. For x' = 0, Einstein postulates x = vt (in
the
| track
| | frame):
| |
| | x' = 0 <-> x = vt (/2/ below)
| |
| | Let us combine this with the system
| |
| | x' = ax + dt (/1/ below)
| |
| | t' = px + qt
| |
| | So we obtain
| |
| | d = -av (/3/ below)
| |
| | t' = (pv + q)t