Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Nonrelativistic para-Lorentzian mechanics

  • Published:
Foundations of Physics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

After reviewing the foundations of special relativity and the room left for rival theories, a set of nonrelativistic para-Lorentzian transformations is derived uniquely, based on (a) a weaker first principle, (b) the requirement that the transformations sought do not give rise to the clock “paradox” (in a refined version), and (c) the compliance of the transformations with the classical experiments of Michelson-Morley, Kennedy-Thorndike, and Ives-Stilwell. The corresponding dynamics is developed. Most of the experimental support of special relativity is reconsidered in the light of the new theory. It is concluded that the relativity of simultaneity has so far not been tested.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. S. Marinov,Eppur si Muove (Centre Belge de Documentation Scientifique, Bruxelles, 1977).

    Google Scholar 

  2. S. Marinov,Int. J. Theor. Phys. 13, 189 (1975);15, 829 (1976);Found. Phys. 6, 571 (1976);8, 137, 637 (1978);9, 445 (1979).

    Google Scholar 

  3. H. P. Robertson,Rev. Mod. Phys. 21, 378 (1949).

    Google Scholar 

  4. P. S. Henry,Nature 231, 516 (1971); B. E. Corey and D. T. Wilkinson,Bull. Am. Astron. Soc. 8, 351 (1976); G. F. Smoot, M. V. Gorenstein, and R. A. Muller,Phys. Rev. Lett. 39, 898 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  5. J. G. Vargas,Rev. Col. Fis. 13, 180 (1977); S. Marinov,Found. Phys. 8, 801 (1978).

    Google Scholar 

  6. G. de Vaucouleurs and W. L. Peters,Nature 220, 868 (1968).

    Google Scholar 

  7. S. Marinov,Czech. J. Phys. 9, 139 (1974).

    Google Scholar 

  8. S. Marinov,Found. Phys. 6, 751 (1976); Erratum,8, 801 (1978).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Z. Vrcelj,Found. Phys. 8, 797 (1978).

    Google Scholar 

  10. H. Erlichson,Am. J. Phys. 41, 1068 (1973).

    Google Scholar 

  11. H. A. Lorentz,The Theory of Electrons and its Applications to the Phenomena of Light and Radiant Heat (Columbia Univ. Press, N.Y., 1909, 1915; Dover, New York, (1952); C. D. Broad,Scientific Thought (Routhledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1923; reprinted by Littlefield, Adams and Co., Patterson, New Jersey, 1959); W. Rindler,Am. J. Phys. 38, 1111 (1970).

    Google Scholar 

  12. R. J. Kennedy and E. M. Thorndike,Phys. Rev. 42, 400 (1932).

    Google Scholar 

  13. J. G. Vargas,Rev. Col. Fis. 14, 91 (1980).

    Google Scholar 

  14. R. Mansouri and R. V. Sexl,Gen. Rel. Grav. 8, 497, 514, 809 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  15. J. G. Vargas,Rev. Col. Fis. 14, 79 (1980).

    Google Scholar 

  16. J. G. Vargas,Lett. Nuovo Cimento 28, 289 (1980).

    Google Scholar 

  17. S. J. Prokhovnik,The Logic of Special Relativity (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, England, 1967); E. Zahar,Brit. J. Phil. Sci. 28 195 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  18. A. D. Allen,Phys. Today 1978 (November), 110.

  19. C. A. Zapfe,Seven Short Essays on (1 −v 2/c 2)−1/2 (published by the author and obtainable free of charge by writing to CAZ Lab., 6410 Murray Hill Road, Baltimore, Maryland 21212).

  20. A. A. Michelson,Am. J. Sci. 22, 120 (1881);Phil. Mag. 13, 236 (1882); A. A. Michelson and E. W. Morley,Am. J. Sci. 34, 333 (1887);Phil. Mag. 24, 449 (1887); E. W. Morley and D. C. Miller,Phil. Mag. 9, 680 (1905);Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 41, 321 (1905); R. Tomaschek,Ann. Physik 73, 105 (1924); D. C. Miller,Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 11, 311 (1925);Rev. Mod. Phys. 3, 203 (1933); R. J. Kennedy,Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 12, 621 (1926);Astrophys. J. 68, 367 (1928); A. Picard and E. Stahel,C. R. Paris 183, 420 (1926);184, 152, 451 (1927);185, 1198 (1927);J. Phys. Radium 8, 56 (1927); K. K. Illinworth,Phys. Rev. 30, 692 (1927); A. A. Michelson, F. G. Pease, and F. Pearson,Nature 123, 88 (1929);J. Opt. Soc. Am. 18, 181 (1929); G. Joos,Ann. Physik 7, 385 (1930);Naturwiss. 38, 784 (1931).

    Google Scholar 

  21. F. A. Jenkins and H. E. White,Fundamentals of Optics (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1947); E. Hecht and A. Zajac,Optics (Addison-Wesley, Reading, 1974).

    Google Scholar 

  22. G. B. Brown,Am. J. Phys. 44, 802 (1976);46, 1071 (1978).

    Google Scholar 

  23. H. Erlichson,Am. J. Phys. 46, 1071 (1978).

    Google Scholar 

  24. Z. Bay, G. G. Luther, and J. A. White,Phys. Rev. Lett. 29, 189 (1972); E. R. Cohen and B. N. Taylor,J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 2, 663 (1973).

    Google Scholar 

  25. R. L. Barger and J. L. Hall,Appl. Phys. Lett. 22, 196 (1973); P. Giacomo, inAtomic Masses and Fundamental Constants, J. H. Sanders and A. H. Wapstra, eds. (Plenum, New York, 1972), Vol. 4, p. 348; K. M. Baird, D. S. Smith, and W. E. Berger,Optics Commun. 7, 107 (1973).

    Google Scholar 

  26. K. M. Evenson, J. S. Wells, F. R. Peterson, B. L. Danielson, and G. W. Day,Appl. Phys. Lett. 22, 196 (1973).

    Google Scholar 

  27. D. Sadeh,Phys. Rev. Lett. 7, 271 (1963); T. Alvager, F. J. M. Farley, J. Kjellman, and J. Wallin,Phys. Lett. 12, 260 (1964).

    Google Scholar 

  28. R. G. Newburgh,Am. J. Phys. 40, 1173 (1972); K. Brecher,Phys. Rev. Lett. 39, 1051 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  29. C. Cattaneo,Lincei. Rend. Sci. Fis. Mat. Nat. XXIV, 526 (1958); Y. P. Terletskii,The Paradoxes of Special Relativity (Plenum Press, New York, 1968); J. G. Vargas,Rev. Col. Fis. 11, 3 (1975); A. R. Lee and T. M. Kalotas,Am. J. Phys. 43, 434 (1975); M. Levy-Leblond,Am. J. Phys. 44, 271 (1976).

    Google Scholar 

  30. H. E. Ives and G. R. Stilwell,J. Opt. Soc. Am. 28, 215 (1938).

    Google Scholar 

  31. D. J. Grove and J. G. Fox,Phys. Rev. 90, 378 (1953); V. P. Zrelov, A. A. Tyapkin, and P. S. Farago,Sov. Phys.—JETP 7, 384 (1958); Z. G. T. Guiragossián, G. B. Rothbart, M. R. Yearian, R. A. Gearhart, and J. J. Murray,Phys. Rev. Lett. 34, 335 (1975).

    Google Scholar 

  32. G. Otting,Phys. Z. 40, 681 (1939); H. E. Mandelberg and L. Witten,J. Opt. Soc. Am. 52, 529 (1962).

    Google Scholar 

  33. D. Newman, G. W. Ford, A. Rich, and E. Sweetman,Phys. Rev. Lett. 40, 1355 (1978).

    Google Scholar 

  34. W. Veltmann,Astron. Nachr. 75, 129, 145 (1870);Poggendorff's Ann. Phys. Chem. 150, 497 (1873); A. Potier,J. Phys. (Paris) 3, 201 (1874); R. M. Newburgh,Isis 65, 379 (1974); R. G. Newburgh and O. Costa de Beauregard,Am. J. Phys. 43, 528 (1975).

    Google Scholar 

  35. J. D. Jackson,Classical Electrodynamics (Wiley, New York, 1975), p. 228.

    Google Scholar 

  36. G. E. Stedman,Am. J. Phys. 40, 782 (1972).

    Google Scholar 

  37. M. F. Podlaha,Brit. J. Phil. Sci. 27, 261 (1976); M. F. Podlaha, B. Althaus, and H. Baensch,Philosophia Naturalis 16, 315 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  38. H. J. Hay, J. P. Schiffer, T. E. Cranshaw, and P. A. Egelstaff,Phys. Rev. Lett. 4, 165 (1960);

    Google Scholar 

  39. T. E. Cranshaw, J. P. Schiffer, and A. B. Whitehead,Phys. Rev. Lett. 4, 163 (1960);

    Google Scholar 

  40. D. C. Champeney, G. R. Isaak, and A. M. Khan,Nature 198, 1186 (1963).

    Google Scholar 

  41. R. V. Pound and G. A. Rebka,Phys. Rev. Lett. 3, 554 (1959);4, 274 (1960).

    Google Scholar 

  42. R. F. C. Vessot and M. W. Levine,Metrologia 6, 116 (1970).

    Google Scholar 

  43. B. Rossi and D. B. Hall,Phys. Rev. 59, 223 (1941); R. P. Durbin, H. H. Loar, and W. W. Havens,Phys. Rev. 88, 179 (1952); F. J. M. Farley, J. Bailey, R. C. A. Brown, M. Giesch, H. Jostlein, S. Van der Meer, E. Picasso, and M. Tannenbaum,Nuovo Cimento 45A, 281 (1968); D. S. Ayres, A. M. Cormack, A. J. Greenberg, R. W. Kenney, D. O. Cladwell, V. B. Elings, W. P. Hesse, and R. J. Morrison,Phys. Rev. D 3, 1051 (1971); J. Bailey, K. Borer, F. Combley, H. Drum, F. Krienen, F. Lange, E. Picasso, W. von Ruden, F. J. M. Farley, J. H. Field, W. Flegel, and P. M. Hattersley,Nature 268, 301 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  44. J. C. Hafele and R. E. Keating,Science 177, 166 (1972).

    Google Scholar 

  45. P. S. Farago and L. Janossy,Nuovo Cimento 5, 1411 (1957).

    Google Scholar 

  46. J. P. Cedarholm, G. F. Bland, B. L. Havens, and C. H. Townes,Phys. Rev. Lett. 1, 342 (1958).

    Google Scholar 

  47. J. P. Cedarholm and C. H. Townes,Nature 4696, 1351 (1959).

    Google Scholar 

  48. C. Møller,Suppl. Nuovo Cimento 6, 381 (1957);Proc. Roy. Soc. A 270, 306 (1962).

    Google Scholar 

  49. C. Møller,The Theory of Relativity (Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, 1969), Chapter I.

    Google Scholar 

  50. F. Combley, F. J. M. Farley, J. H. Field, and E. Picasso,Phys. Rev. Lett. 42, 1383 (1979).

    Google Scholar 

  51. J. Wesley and A. Rich,Phys. Rev. A 4, 1341 (1971).

    Google Scholar 

  52. R. van Dyck, P. Schwinberg, and H. Dehmelt,Phys. Rev. Lett. 38, 310 (1977).

    Google Scholar 

  53. V. Bargmann, L. Michel, and V. L. Telegdi,Phys. Rev. Lett. 2, 435 (1959).

    Google Scholar 

  54. T. S. Jaseja, A. Javan, J. Murray, and C. H. Townes,Phys. Rev. 133, A1221 (1964).

    Google Scholar 

  55. A. Brillet and J. L. Hall,Phys. Rev. Lett. 42, 549 (1979).

    Google Scholar 

  56. L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshitz,Electrodynamics of Continuous Media (Pergamon Press, New York, 1960), I66, 67.

    Google Scholar 

  57. R. Perrin,Am. J. Phys. 47, 317 (1979).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Fisica, Facultad Experimental de Ciencias, Maracaibo, Venezuela

    J. G. Vargas

Authors
  1. J. G. Vargas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Partially financed by Colciencias.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Vargas, J.G. Nonrelativistic para-Lorentzian mechanics. Found Phys 11, 235–278 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00726268

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00726268

Keywords

Search

Navigation