On the Arbitrary Choice Regarding Which Inertial Reference Frame Is "Stationary" and Which Is "Moving" in the Special Theory of Relativity

Douglas M. Snyder
1994 Physics essays  
The relativity of simultaneity is central to the special theory, and it is the basis for the other results of the special theory. It is the relativity of simultaneity that fundamentally distinguishes the special theory from Newtonian mechanics and the kinematics underlying it. What generally is not appreciated is that Einstein's argument on the relativity of simultaneity itself is the first result and that the argument itself is reflected in the structure and functioning of the physical world.
more » ... he arbitrary nature of the decision regarding the particular inertial reference frame from which Einstein's argument on the relativity of simultaneity begins is discussed, and it is this arbitrary, or freely made, decision that is the basis for the significance of the argument of the relativity of simultaneity itself on the structure and functioning of the physical world. Moreover, the arbitrary choice as to the direction in which the relativity of simultaneity is argued indicates that there is a specific cognitive effect on the functioning of the physical world because the particular format of the argument on the relativity of simultaneity used is freely chosen without physical or mental constraints, as none are indicated in the special theory. The paper approaches the role of the relativity of simultaneity in the special theory through a gedankenexperiment known as the twin paradox and, more generally, in terms of the relation between temporal durations of an occurrence and the spatial lengths of physical existents in inertial reference frames in uniform translational motion relative to one another. The argument concerning the relativity of simultaneity leads to an interesting conundrum regarding light, a conundrum that serves to make more explicit the importance of the argument on the relativity of simultaneity to the structure and functioning of the physical world in the special theory. The general lack of two-way empirical tests in the special theory (i.e., tests in which each of the two inertial reference frames is considered the "stationary" reference frame, the reference frame in which the argument on the relativity of simultaneity begins, in a scenario) is discussed. Two examples of other kinds of tests which have been conducted are discussed and contrasted with a proposed two-way test.
doi:10.4006/1.3029146 fatcat:foa6o7wk45fhrafpzibxf24d4y