- #1
Moneer81
- 159
- 2
hey,
so most of us understand special relativity, and I also understand it and appreciate it. However, most people understand it from a mathematical point of view. But come to think about it, what is actually happening in relativity?
there are many examples we can look at. for instance the two observers, one on a fast train and another on the ground: a certain event's time will be shorter for the one on the train. Another example, the twin paradox, where one of the twins travels to a distant planet on a very fast spaceship and returns to find his twin brother has aged many more years than himself. Or for a more realistic example, the 1975 experiment where an atomic clock flown on an airplane showed a different reading than an identical one on the ground.
When I explain relativity to friends or other students, people tell me: this is all BS! They keep asking me about what is happening to these clocks, and whether the velocity at which they're moving has anything to do with they way these clocks function. I also wonder about those twins: does the one twin actually age more? i.e. does he show signs of older age like wrinkles and stuff before his brother does?
any comments?
thanks
so most of us understand special relativity, and I also understand it and appreciate it. However, most people understand it from a mathematical point of view. But come to think about it, what is actually happening in relativity?
there are many examples we can look at. for instance the two observers, one on a fast train and another on the ground: a certain event's time will be shorter for the one on the train. Another example, the twin paradox, where one of the twins travels to a distant planet on a very fast spaceship and returns to find his twin brother has aged many more years than himself. Or for a more realistic example, the 1975 experiment where an atomic clock flown on an airplane showed a different reading than an identical one on the ground.
When I explain relativity to friends or other students, people tell me: this is all BS! They keep asking me about what is happening to these clocks, and whether the velocity at which they're moving has anything to do with they way these clocks function. I also wonder about those twins: does the one twin actually age more? i.e. does he show signs of older age like wrinkles and stuff before his brother does?
any comments?
thanks