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length contraction and time dilation.


eon_rider

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Non-expert question:

I’m trying to understand time dilation and length contraction better within the context of Einstein’s Special Relativity.

 

I found some good descriptions at about.com and on several science forum threads but it seems I came up just shy of understanding it clearly. I thought I had it understood clearly then somehow my understanding got obfuscated again.

 

I’ve heard some great analogies for both time dilation and length contraction. (One being the tilting “1meter stick/ruler” analogy.)

 

EG. Due to the tilt of the ruler (representing a person travelling at very high speed) an observer on the other side of the room might see the meter stick appear to be only “half a meter long”, due to it’s tilting away from him or her. But this seems like just perspective creating the illusion of length contraction.

 

So can length contraction and time dilation logically and conceptually be explained in other ways?

 

I’m aware and trust in the atomic clock experiments done on planes and how GPS will be way off each day with out taking in account for time dilation but accepting and trusting this experimental evidence is not the same as understanding time dilation and length contraction logically and conceptually.

 

I don't believe that S.R is counter intuitive. I think it becomes intuitive with practice and looking at the concepts again and again, so I'm hopeful I can get it clearly one day. LOL. (beyond just plugging in the numbers to the S.R. equations and getting correct results)

 

Does anyone know any good web resources that explain time dilation and length contraction in a logical progression from first principles?

Or does anyone want to give it a shot in this thread?

It might be helpful for others too.

 

All the best,

 

Eon.

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The Australian National University's relativistic visualization project group have done a great job. The pictures are amazing. It's a great site for visualizing aspects of S.R.

 

I'll continue on, and see if I can find other sites that get into the logic of S.R. I'm also still reading slowely Einstein's original papers, and with each new concept searching for multiple examples or re-statements on the web at university web sites. But it's not always a straight forward learning process.

 

You think you understand something, then you realize you didn't really get it properly, so then you go back again.

 

But it's all good and remains interesting.

EDIT: and at times frustrating! lol ;)

 

best,

 

Eon.

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I was going to edit my previous post.

I didn't want to bump this post, but for some reason I can't edit my previous post.

 

anyway..

 

If its helfpul to anyone I found this link.

 

http://www.phy.syr.edu/courses/modules/LIGHTCONE/

 

from The Department of Physics at Syracuse University.

 

It was very clear and helpful to read from start to finish.

IMO - one the the best online presentations I've read so far for

the non-scientist.

 

FROM THE WEB SITE:

These documents comprise an elementary introduction to the Theory of Relativity. The intended audience is a class of nonscience undergraduates in (PHY 105) Science for the 21st Century a course offered by the Department of Physics at Syracuse University. (Eventually, these documents will be expanded to include more technical explanations for more advanced audiences.)

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