Oops - second sentence should read "so that you cannot determine absolute motion by any experiment."
Need to proof before I send!
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"Who cares about half a second after the big bang;
what about the half a second before?"
- Fay Weldon
*******************************************************
Dr. George Spagna
Physics Department
Randolph-Macon College
P.O. Box 5005
Ashland, VA 23005-5505
-----Original Message-----
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu [mailto:phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of Spagna Jr., George
Sent: Friday, October 01, 2010 10:05 AM
To: Forum for Physics Educators
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] Absolute four-momentum of massless particles
The second postulate is not needed. The first postulate says that all the "laws of physics" apply in an inertial frame, so that you cannot determine by any experiment. The speed of light (whatever it is!) in vacuo is given by Maxwell's equations, so the constant value of c is a consequence of the first postulate.
*******************************************************
"Who cares about half a second after the big bang;
what about the half a second before?"
- Fay Weldon
*******************************************************
Dr. George Spagna
Physics Department
Randolph-Macon College
P.O. Box 5005
Ashland, VA 23005-5505