Can you speak English for a lowly S/W Dev?

[treat2]

Originally posted by selfAdjoint
If something is "invariant" under a system of trasformations, then it will have the same value after you do such a transformation as it did before. For example length is invariant under rotations.

According to ONE of the two ways of formaliziing relativity, mass is invariant and energy is not. According to the OTHER formalism, mass is not invariant but energy is.

If this duality seems counterintuitive think of this. You are looking at something which is speeding by, or toward, or away from you. You observe its behavior, and set out to do equations on that. You find that the equations predict the same behavior if you plug in an invariant mass and an energy that is a certain function of speed, or if you plug in an invariant energy and have the mass be a certain function of the speed. Either way gives you the same predictions of behavior. This is actually a "duality" like the ones the string physicists talk about but SR is such a simple theory the duality has no effect, except to confuse students.

You are going to have to check each answer to your question according to who sent it. Each individual should be consistent with him/herself, but they will disagee with each other, only due to this double formality problem.

Many thanks! At least I know that I didn't misunderstand everything, and am at least not more confused now, than after the replies began coming in. LOL!

I'm reluctant to ask anything more about it, as it seems it seems that whenever I do, the reply indicates I'm varying the wrong thing. LOL! Thanks again. I'm going to quit asking more questions, before someone says that this explanation is wrong, too! Thnaks again.

 

[GRQC]

Treat2,

Don't give up asking questions. I am sorry for my harsh reply from before. On these forums, it's sometimes hard to differentiate between those who are really asking for help, and those who are out to make a pest of themselves. I would encourage you to continue using this forum as a source of information. I'm sure there are many posters here who are professors (like myself) who enjoy helping those who have an interest.

I think this is a great venue for public outreach and academic discussion, and I commend the moderators for maintaining it.

 

[treat2]

Originally posted by GRQC
Treat2,

Don't give up asking questions. I am sorry for my harsh reply from before. On these forums, it's sometimes hard to differentiate between those who are really asking for help, and those who are out to make a pest of themselves. I would encourage you to continue using this forum as a source of information. I'm sure there are many posters here who are professors (like myself) who enjoy helping those who have an interest.

I think this is a great venue for public outreach and academic discussion, and I commend the moderators for maintaining it.

A few brief words for GRQC and everyone on appologies, then some qustions(s).

GRQC AND EVERYONE! I appreciate your responses. (I was half-kidding around, in my previous post.) There is no need to appologize, I realize that anyone who wrote a non-canned response, really took their own time to talk to me, and I appreciate your efforts, despite my earlier confusion about the 2 schools approach. I too, posted something earlier that could have been said more tactfully, and let some frustration get into the mix. I now have seen that you have been dealing with your share of Physics quacks, ego-baiters, and other ego-related/(in)sensitivities. Anyways, I'm not one of the trouble makers,
in that regard.

One thing you've noticed is that I never stop asking questions.
I also have a tendency to ask some unanswerable questions.
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9GRQC, I REALLY want to start at the very beginning all over again, but for now, my objective will remain: to make it to the end of each reply w/o being confused by what was said.
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GTQC, OR ANYONE

Please correct me entirely, when I go down the wrong path.
(Use you terminology e,g, "rest frames", or maybe that is not.
I've got a ton of new physics books I will be getting into
during the next few years. So, whatever terminialogy I will
read about, will be of interest for me to hear and become
familiar with.)

GTQC, OR SOME PPL,
you mentioned that mass remains constant while accelerating or decellerating, regardless were the obeserver is positioned. I was my understanding that you were explaining that E increases while mass remaines invariant. I'd like first know if I undersatnd that correcly, and secondly know (assuming the above is true), is E increaesing relative to an observer that is no on board, or is it increasing relative to a person that is on board?

A last question, I'm pretty sure of... when we last about E=MC^2, we are not talking about systems that being influenced by gravity. (As I see no gravitational variable in the equation, although gravity, would effect accel/decel rates in E=M*C^2) is gravity, implicitly expected to be worked into the equation, when applicatble?