Abstract
Relativity claims that the simultaneity between two (or more) observers, each traveling in different Inertial Reference Frames (IRFs) is such that for two spaceships moving through space at a high-speed relative to one another “inside the frame of reference of Ship A, everything is moving normally, but everything over on Ship B appears to be moving slower (and vice versa)”. However, as I will explain, this interpretation leads to an inconsistency which cannot be true. I point out the error being made in the interpretation of Minkowski diagrams that leads to this inconsistency, and how the diagram should be interpreted to correct this error. This paper demonstrates that a moving object’s rate of time is determined based on its speed relative to a stationary reference frame and that the light signals propagating between objects (from which observers can determine the other object’s rate of time) move at the speed of light c with respect to this stationary frame. If two objects are moving at the same speed through the stationary frame (but in different directions to each other) then they will have the same degree of time dilation and will thus have the same rate of time, despite the relative motion that exists between them.
Highlights
To determine the time on ship A‟s ct‟ axis that is simultaneous with ship B‟s Red dot event, one must follow ship A‟s line of simultaneity until it intersects with ship A‟s ct axis
If the claim is made that the different time observed from one ship to the other are just what is OBSERVED rather than real time differences, that too is incorrect as the lines of simultaneity depict actual simultaneity of events and there is no propagation delay due to the travel time of light included in the diagram
It is clear that both Ship A and Ship B‟s times are dilated by the same amount, when compared to the clock of the stationary observer in the middle. This evidence should be indisputable, even by Relativists given that Relativity is founded on the Lorentz Transformations!. This misunderstanding about the Relativity of simultaneity stems from Einstein's mistaken assumption that the speed of light is really constant in any Inertial Reference Frames (IRFs) and moves through space at speed c with respect to that IRF, rather than just measured to be so
Summary
This diagram (Figure 1) is a Minkowski diagram depicting two spaceships approaching each other at 40% of the speed of light. Events in the stationary observer‟s reference frame that have the same time all lie along lines that are parallel to his own space X axis. These lines are known as lines of simultaneity as all events occurring along these lines are simultaneous from the point of view of the moving observer. In the case being considered in this paper – that of two spaceships approaching each other, each traveling at 40% of the speed of light through the space of the stationary observer – the lines of simultaneity from one spaceship cannot be drawn into the space defined by the axes of the other spaceship and make meaningful (or correct) inferences about the time of the events in the other reference frame. To determine the time on ship A‟s ct‟ axis that is simultaneous with ship B‟s Red dot event (on his ct‟‟ axis), one must follow ship A‟s line of simultaneity until it intersects with ship A‟s ct axis
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