In several recent pedagogical papers, it has been clearly emphasized that Lorentz contraction is
a real, physical deformation of a uniformly moving object
, a phenomenon that exists regardless of the process of relativistic measurement by the observer [5,6,7].
Is length contraction and time dilation real?
Yes
, they most certainly are. They are both a result of what we measure—and what we measure is as real as things get.
What causes Lorentz contraction?
Q: Why does relativistic length contraction (Lorentz contraction) happen? … Length contraction is a
symptom of “tilted now planes”
. For someone moving past you events physically in front of them happen earlier than they should (according to you), and events physically behind them happen later (according to you).
Is length contraction just an illusion?
From a non-mathematical
approach length contraction is an illusion
. [ you have heard of creative accounting, …well, this is creative physics ] Objects do not appear in their true form.
Does length contraction actually happen?
Yes, length contraction occurs
– and can be detected by careful measurement. But if you try to observe length contraction, you can’t because your view of it is compensated for by the finite speed of light.
How do you calculate length of contractions?
Length contraction L is the shortening of the measured length of an object moving relative to the observer’s frame:
L=L0√1−v2c2=L0γ L = L 0 1 − v 2 c 2 = L 0 γ
.
Is it possible to travel faster than the speed of light?
Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity famously dictates that
no known object can travel faster than the speed of light in vacuum
, which is 299,792 km/s. … Unlike objects within space–time, space–time itself can bend, expand or warp at any speed.
How much does time dilation at the speed of light?
Moving at 99.5% of the speed of light gives you a time dilation factor of
around 10
.
Why does time dilation happen?
Gravitational time dilation occurs because
objects with a lot of mass create a strong gravitational field
. The gravitational field is really a curving of space and time. The stronger the gravity, the more spacetime curves, and the slower time itself proceeds.
Is time Travelling possible?
Time travel to the past is
theoretically possible
in certain general relativity spacetime geometries that permit traveling faster than the speed of light, such as cosmic strings, traversable wormholes, and Alcubierre drives.
Why is length of contraction wrong?
As time dilation is wrong, length contraction must be wrong because time dilation and
length contraction are dependent
. It is no matter whether an object is moving or not, its length will be always same. In other words, a stationary observer will measure his length same with the moving observer.
Why do objects shrink as they approach the speed of light?
In this expression, c is a constant equal to the speed of light in a vacuum. The length of moving objects also
shrink in the direction in which they move
. … This increase in relativistic mass makes every extra unit of energy you put into speeding up the object less effective at making it actually move faster.
Why is simultaneity relative?
theory of relativity implies that simultaneity is
relative to a frame of axes
. If one frame of axes is moving relative to another, then events that are simultaneous relative to the first are not simultaneous relative to the second, and vice versa.
What happens to length at the speed of light?
How is that possible? When a frame of reference goes very fast (close to the speed of light) relative to a rest frame, its time slows down as observed by someone in the rest frame. This relativistic effect is known as
time dilation
. … This relativistic effect is known as length contraction.
What is rest length?
Proper length or rest length is
the length of an object in the object’s rest frame
. … A different term, proper distance, provides an invariant measure whose value is the same for all observers. Proper distance is analogous to proper time.
What are Lorentz transformation equations?
Lorentz transformations, set of equations in relativity physics that
relate the space and time coordinates of two systems moving at a constant velocity relative to each other
.
