Minkowski spacetime

[Yiyou Chen]

Does anyone know any evidence besides time dilation and Lorentz transformation that support the correctness of the Minkowski spacetime model?

Thanks!

[Mordred]

Redshift, muon decay rates, everyday particle accelerators, detection of GW waves, light deflection due to spacetime curvature,  direct tests of time dilation, GPS satellites, weak and strong equivalency tests. The list goes on and on. 

 Its one of the most strongly tested theories 

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://arxiv.org/pdf/1705.04397&ved=0ahUKEwigo-PF2tvXAhUB3WMKHVD0B9IQFggmMAM&usg=AOvVaw054EguS3mqzq8k-KfOkm8o

Here is an arxiv dissertation on the tests

 

Considering all the attempts to prove SR/GR wrong they all prove SR/GR as being incredibly accurate. It was one of the more tested theories as the majority hated the implications. However despite all the competitive attempts its born out as being highly accurate.

PS once you understand it properly its incredibly easy to understand how time dilation and length contraction is involved. Though it takes a suspension of disbelief and proper study

[geordief]

A historical question perhaps but  is there any record of what gave Minkowski the idea for this representation?

 

I understand Einstein was not pleased at first but came around.

 

Was it Einstein that  first discovered  that the spacetime interval  was invariant from all inertial FoRs? How did he get the idea for that minus sign?  Did it just  show up in the maths  "uninvited" or was someone playing around with (4D?) hyperbolic geometry and did Einstein just notice  the applicability?

[phyti]

On 11/26/2017 at 6:02 AM, geordief said:

A historical question perhaps but  is there any record of what gave Minkowski the idea for this representation?

I understand Einstein was not pleased at first but came around.

Was it Einstein that  first discovered  that the spacetime interval  was invariant from all inertial FoRs? How did he get the idea for that minus sign?  Did it just  show up in the maths  "uninvited" or was someone playing around with (4D?) hyperbolic geometry and did Einstein just notice  the applicability?

Einstein began with 3 spatial dimensions x_r and 1 time dimension. He believed the nature of time was different than that of space. For him the invariant interval was the spatial interval between events, since events don't move. The expression was

x₁² +x₂² +x₃² = c²t²

Minkowski wanted to generalize this to a 4D expression, since all the terms are distances. Using complex notation, with x₄ = ict, the 4D expression is

x₁² +x₂² +x₃² + x₄² = s²

Interestingly, distance to an object moving at constant speed is linear only for 1-dimensional head-on motion, and hyperbolic for all other paths with an offset, 2D. Light transit times vary accordingly. I.e., not  originating from of Relativity.

[Eise]

On 26/11/2017 at 12:02 PM, geordief said:

A historical question perhaps but  is there any record of what gave Minkowski the idea for this representation?

Does this answer your questions? If not, just ask further.

[geordief]

1 hour ago, Eise said:

Does this answer your questions? If not, just ask further.

Thanks ,that looks fascinating.   Wish I had more head storage room. If that was made into a murder mystery(with time travel)  it would make for  a great whodunnit