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Ladder paradox. The ladder paradox (or barn-pole paradox) is a thought experiment in special relativity. It involves a ladder, parallel to the ground, travelling horizontally at relativistic speed (near the speed of light) and therefore undergoing a Lorentz length contraction. The ladder is imagined passing through the open front and rear doors ...
Einstein's special theory is not the only theory that combines a form of light speed constancy with the relativity principle. A theory along the lines of that proposed by Heinrich Hertz (in 1890) [17] allows for light to be fully dragged by all objects, giving local c-constancy for all physical observers.
e. In physics, the special theory of relativity, or special relativity for short, is a scientific theory of the relationship between space and time. In Albert Einstein 's 1905 paper, On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, the theory is presented as being based on just two postulates: [p 1][1][2] The laws of physics are invariant (identical ...
Events A, B, and C occur in different order depending on the motion of the observer. The white line represents a plane of simultaneity being moved from the past to the future. In physics, the relativity of simultaneity is the concept that distant simultaneity – whether two spatially separated events occur at the same time – is not absolute ...
The special theory of relativity ("SR"), [6] Einstein's previous (1905) theory of inertial physics and light, a distillation of the relationships of Lorentz aether theory, [7] [8] based on the assumption of a globally constant speed of light and a "flat" lightbeam geometry.
Einstein sensed a conflict between Newtonian mechanics and the constant speed of light determined by Maxwell's equations. [ 6 ] : 114–115 Regardless of the historical and scientific issues described above, Einstein's early thought experiment was part of the repertoire of test cases that he used to check on the viability of physical theories.
Furthermore, the accessible experiments have been done and support Einstein's prediction. In 1911, Paul Langevin gave a "striking example" by describing the story of a traveler making a trip at a Lorentz factor of γ = 100 (99.995% the speed of light). The traveler remains in a projectile for one year of his time, and then reverses direction.
v. t. e. The two-body problem in general relativity (or relativistic two-body problem) is the determination of the motion and gravitational field of two bodies as described by the field equations of general relativity. Solving the Kepler problem is essential to calculate the bending of light by gravity and the motion of a planet orbiting its sun.