Event Title

Session F: Contributed Oral Papers – F3: Cosmology, Theory: Relativity on Rotated Graph Paper

Presenter Information

Robert Salgado, Bowdoin College

Location

Room 165, Campus Center, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Event Website

http://blogs.umass.edu/nes2011/

Start Date

19-11-2011 8:24 AM

End Date

19-11-2011 8:36 AM

Description

We present visual calculations in special relativity using spacetime diagrams drawn on graph paper that has been rotated by 45 degrees. The rotated lines represent lightlike directions in Minkowski spacetime, and the boxes in the grid (called light-clock diamonds) represent ticks of an inertial observer's lightclock. We show that many quantitative results can be read off a spacetime diagram by counting boxes, using a minimal amount of algebra.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS
 
Nov 19th, 8:24 AM Nov 19th, 8:36 AM

Session F: Contributed Oral Papers – F3: Cosmology, Theory: Relativity on Rotated Graph Paper

Room 165, Campus Center, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

We present visual calculations in special relativity using spacetime diagrams drawn on graph paper that has been rotated by 45 degrees. The rotated lines represent lightlike directions in Minkowski spacetime, and the boxes in the grid (called light-clock diamonds) represent ticks of an inertial observer's lightclock. We show that many quantitative results can be read off a spacetime diagram by counting boxes, using a minimal amount of algebra.

https://scholarworks.umass.edu/climate_nuclearpower/2011/nov19/40