Re: SR cannot determine Contraction

Peri of Pera wrote:
Lorentz proposed contraction of moving objects in a paper 'The
relative motion of the earth and the ether', Versl.Kon.Akad.Wetensch.
1, 74 in 1892 and then published the Lorentz transformation formulas
in 1899 according to which objects moving through space contract
parallel to the direction of motion and in proportion to their speed
[L'=L/sqrt(1-v^2/c^2)].

Yes.


Einstein accepted the formulas [...]

No! Einstein RE-DERIVED a similar formula using a completely different conceptual basis. The symbols in the equations have DIFFERENT MEANINGS.


The real value of v in the formula is indeterminate i.e. the real
speed of a body is unknown.

Only for an unusual and essentially useless meaning of "real".

When I measure the velocity of a moving object, that measurement measures the REAL velocity of the object relative to the coordinates I am using. This is the meaning of "real" that physicists have used for >300 years (when applied to this particular situation). That Peri does not know this is his problem. <shrug>

Yes, different observers using different coordinates obtain different values of velocity of the same object. Such variation with point of view is common in the world we inhabit. That Peri does not realize this is his problem. <shrug>


Conclusion: SR is useless.

No! But it is clear that Peri of Pera does not understand it.


Tom Roberts
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