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A Harvard pole vaulter carries a pole that is just as long as a barn. He encounters a NJ farmer. Overhead view: Is this Nonsense? -- Space & Time are Relative
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The farmer gathers 100 witnesses and this is what they see: The pole vaulter then bursts through the second door. The witnesses ALL agree: THE FARMER WON
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? According to the Pole Vaulter, the Farmer cheats!! He shuts the front door before the back one! But, alas, not one witness agrees
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A New Geometry for Space and Time Space, Time, Simultaneity, Energy, Momentum are all relative Yet, some things, like the speed of light, are absolutes (“invariants”)
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ct x SPACE-TIME DIAGRAM WELCOME TO YOUR 4-DIMENSIONAL WORLD Bob’s viewpoint
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ct x SPACE-TIME DIAGRAM an event a worldline light
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y x SPACE-SPACE DIAGRAM a point
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y x SPACE-SPACE DIAGRAM y’y’ x’x’ a point
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ct SPACE-TIME DIAGRAM light x Bob’s viewpoint
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ct SPACE-TIME DIAGRAM light ct ’ x x’x’ Alice’s viewpoint
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ct SPACE-TIME DIAGRAM light ct ’ x x’x’
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ct SPACE-TIME DIAGRAM ct ’ x x’x’ an event
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ct SPACE-TIME DIAGRAM ct ’ x x’x’ an event
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ct TIME & SIMULTANEITY ARE RELATIVE x Farmer’s viewpoint
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ct ct ’ x x’x’ TIME & SIMULTANEITY ARE RELATIVE first second Pole vaulter’s viewpoint
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Alice Bob people “Twin Paradox” Revisited v Alice Bob v The End ?
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t x AT LAST: THE TWIN PARADOX Alice takes off Alice returns
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t x SPACE-TIME DIAGRAM Alice takes off Alice returns Bob’s “worldline”
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t x SPACE-TIME DIAGRAM Alice takes off Alice returns Alice’s “worldline” Kink: only Alice feels acceleration
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y x SPACE-SPACE DIAGRAM Shortest distance between two points is a straight line
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t x SPACE-TIME DIAGRAM Alice takes off Alice returns Alice’s “worldline” Longest time between two events is a straight line
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E = mc 2 E = m rest c 2
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