- #106
Raymond Potvin
- 102
- 5
It is the same kind of mind experiment as the light clock one, so if its assumptions are not self-consistent, then the light clock ones are not either. The main difference between the two mind experiments is that one clock depends on the motion of light, whereas the other depends on the motion of the earth: we can see the Earth moving from a distance, but we cannot see the light traveling between the mirrors. We know that the light coming from the Earth would be traveling directly to our eyes, whereas we have to assume that the light would be traveling sideways between the mirrors. The light clock mind experiment was presented to explain time dilation, but there is no way to explain time dilation with the Earth clock. Yet, there should be since the two mind experiments are equivalent, and moreover, SR says there is when motion between source and observer is direct.