Multiple Fiztgerald-Lorentz contractions

Is Detection of Fitzgerald-Lorentz Contraction Possible?

Visual perception of Fitzgerald-Lorentz contraction is known to be theoretically impossible, and this can be demonstrated pedagogically with the aid of simple spacetime diagrams of one spatial dimension. Such diagrams also demonstrate, simply and directly, that the apparent length of a moving meter stick changes as it passes by and can even look elongated. In addition, measurement of a moving meter stick with instruments, as opposed to visual perception, must be inherently ambiguous, as the length measured depends on clock synchronization, which is widely considered to be conventional. In fact…

Lorentz-contraction formula from non-simultaneous events

We present a derivation of the relativistic length-contraction formula based on Lorentz space-time transformations on non-simultaneous events. Our derivation avoids the disputable story about the stationary observer and its simultaneous measurements of object's end-points.

Lorentz contraction, Bell's spaceships, and rigid body motion in special relativity

The meaning of Lorentz contraction in special relativity and its connection with Bell's spaceships parable is discussed. The motion of Bell's spaceships is then compared with the accelerated motion of a rigid body. We have tried to write this in a simple form that could be used to correct students' misconceptions due to conflicting earlier treatments.

Projection of relativistically moving objects on a two-dimensional plane, the `train' paradox and the visibility of the Lorentz contraction

Although many papers have appeared on the theory of photographing relativistically moving objects, pioneered by the classic work of Penrose and Terrell, three problems remain outstanding. (1) There does not seem to exist a general formula which gives the projection of a relativistically moving object, applicable to any object no matter how complicated, on a two-dimensional plane in conformity with Terrell's observation. (2) No resolution seems to have been provided for the associated so-called `train' paradox. (3) No analytical demonstration seems to have been offered on how the Lorentz contra…

洛伦兹-菲兹杰拉德收缩作为移动球谐腔的唯一闭合条件

Lorentz-FitzGerald Contraction as the Unique Closure Condition for Moving Spherical-Harmonic Cavities

论文证明了洛伦兹-菲兹杰拉德收缩是保持球谐相闭合的移动腔体唯一变形条件，通过推导得出收缩比和时间膨胀公式，揭示了相闭合对机械波介质中运动的唯一约束。

Interferometry with relativistic electrons

We propose an experiment to test the influence of Lorentz contraction on the interference pattern of a beam of electrons. The electron beam is split and recombined by two pairs of bi-chromatic laser pulses, using a variation of the Kapitza-Dirac effect. Between the pairs the electrons are accelerated to relativistic speed. We show that Lorentz contraction of the distance between two partial beams will then lead to a reduction of fringe visibility. The connection of the proposal to Bell's spaceship paradox is discussed.