Einstein's Theories of Relativity and Gravitation: A selection of material from the essays submitted in the competition for the Eugene Higgins prize of $5,000Bird, J. Malcolm (James Malcolm)
Philosophy
Einstein's Theories of Relativity and Gravitation: A selection of material from the essays submitted in the competition for the Eugene Higgins prize of $5,000
Bird, J. Malcolm (James Malcolm)
Relativity (Physics)
In the ordinary "analytical geometry," the position and motion of
all the points considered is referred to a rigid "body" or "frame of
reference." This usually consists of an imaginary room of suitable
size. The position of any point is then given by three numbers, i.e.,
its distances from one side wall and from the back wall and its height
above the floor. These three numbers can only give one point, every
other point having at least one number different. In four-dimensional
geometry a fourth wall may be vaguely imagined as perpendicular to
all three walls, and a fourth number added, giving the distance of
the "point" from this wall also. Since "rigid" bodies do not exist in
gravitational fields the "frame of reference" must be "non-rigid." The
frame of reference in the Gaussian system need not be rigid, it can
be of any shape and moving in any manner, in fact a kind of jelly. A
"point" or "event" in the four dimensioned world is still given by four
numbers but these numbers do not represent distances from anywhere;
all that is necessary is that no two events shall have exactly the
same four numbers to represent them, and that two events which are
very close together shall be represented by numbers which differ only
slightly from one another. This system assumes so little that it will
be seen to be very wide in its scope; although to the ordinary mind,
what is gained in scope seems more than that lost in concreteness. This
does not concern the mathematician, however, and by using this system
he gains his object, proving that the general laws of nature remain
the same when expressed in any Gaussian coordinate system whatever.]220
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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