A. A. Тyapkin

EXPRESSION OF THE GENERAL PROPERTIES OF PHYSICAL PROCESSES IN THE SPACE-TIME METRIC OF THE SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY (1972) (in Russian)

(link to article in English : http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1070/PU1972v015n02ABEH004964/pdf)

 

Historical references concerning the establishment of the conventional character of the concept of simultaneity of spatially separated events are cited in the article. It is shown that when the criteria for simultaneity admissible on the basis of cause-effect relations have been chosen, there appear in the general case anisotropic descriptions of the velocities of physical processes, which, owing to kinematic similitude, are impossible to distinguish from the isotropic description.

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It is noted that the theory constructed by Lorentz in his 1904 paper is essentially one of possible forms of presentation of the theory of relativity. The attempts to "develop" Lorentz's erroneous explanation of the relativistic effects are reviewed. The special theory of relativity is analyzed with allowance for the conventionality of the individual propositions of the traditional form of presentation of the theory.

A preliminary analysis of the kinematics of physical phenomena for different reference frames in common space-time scales enabled us to establish the fact that the relativity principle is satisfied, owing to the appearance of a kinematic similitude for the corresponding processes, which proceed differently in different inertial coordinate systems. It is shown that the characteristics of the Lorentz transformations lie in just an expression for a universal difference between the velocities of propagation of physical processes in the direction of relative motion of the reference frames. The necessity of the universality requirement for the properties of motion, expressed in terms of the metric properties of space-time, is especially emphasized in the paper, and attention is drawn to a possible use of the old data on the metric of the physical space-time to uncover new properties of motion.

 

 

B.B. Kadomtsev, L.V. Keldysh, I.Yu. Kobzarev, R.Z. Sagdeev

ABOUT A. A. TYAPKIN’S PAPER: « EXPRESSION OF THE GENERAL PROPERTIES OF PHYSICAL PROCESSES IN THE SPACE-TIME METRIC OF THE SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY» (1972) (in Russian)

(link to article in English : http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1070/PU1972v015n02ABEH004965/pdf)

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We must not forget that for Lorentz and Poincaré it was about the theory of electrons, immersed in the aether, and a selected coordinate system in which the aether was immobile. The condition of relativity for them was a result of a compensation, not allowing to detect any motion relative to the aether. Only Einstein renounced to aether in its work, considering all the inertial system as equal, and the Fitzgerald reduction as a relative effect that can occur in any inertial system. That is why Einstein is the author of the theory of relativity in the proper sense of the word.

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The main allegation of A. Tyapkina is that you can deny the isotropy of the speed of light and accept another point of view, using the Galileo transformation instead of the Lorentz transformations. While this sacrifices the invariance of descriptions. Formally, mathematically, it is possible, as it is possible to use an oblique coordinate system instead of a Cartesian one. However, from the point of view of physics, the loss of simplicity of mathematical theory, the abandonment of the group properties of Lorentz transformations, and thereby sacrificing an adequate description of the symmetry properties of space-time, do complicate the picture so much, that the language of the theory cannot be considered suitable for practical use.

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It is well known that not only the Michelson experience can be described in arbitrary coordinates, but also the general relativity can be formulated in arbitrary, non-Cartesian coordinates in the four-dimensional space-time, as it is done, for example, in V. Fock’s book "Theory of Space, Time and Gravitation".

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In particular, a description using the Galilean coordinates has been done in the book of C. Moller, "Theory of Relativity". It must be emphasized, however, that in order to fully articulate the special theory of relativity in the Galilean coordinates, one must explicitly enter the metric tensor equation, because the interval in these coordinates has a non-Descartes form:

 

ds2 = (с2 ‑ ʋ2) dt2 ‑ ʋdx'dt ‑ dx2 ‑ dy2 ‑ dz2.

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​The author did’t do it, only describing the Michelson experiment in Galilean coordinates. As a result, in his article on special relativity, nor the theory of relativity, neither the principle of relativity have been formulated mathematically.

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To summarize, we must say that the article of A. Tyapkin, contrary to the author’s declaration, contains no new ideas, which haven’t been discussed previously. With regard to the interpretation of the question proposed by A. Tyapkin, it is incomplete and only bulkier dims the physical meaning of the considered ratios.

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A. A. Тyapkin

PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVITY. DIGEST OF WORKS AON STR (1973) (pdf, in Russian)

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A. A. Тyapkin

HISTORY OF FORMATION OF STR’s IDEAS (PART OF THE DIGEST ABOVE) (1973) (in Russian)

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A. A. Тyapkin

HISTORY OF OCCURRENCE OF THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY (2004) (in Russian)

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I.Yu. Kobzarev

REVIEW OF «THE PRINCIPLE OF RELATIVITY. A COLLECTION OF PAPERS ON THE SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY», COMPILED BY A. A. TYAPKIN (1975) (in Russian)

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Speaking of Einstein as the creator of the theory of relativity, it is usually meant that in his work, decisive steps have been made: it has been shown that all inertial systems are equal, the coordinates and times measured in these formulas involve relativistic transformations (mathematically identical to formulas of Lorentz), times and lengths are relative; equation of optics and electrodynamics have the same form in all inertial frames of reference.

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Only Einstein realized that relativistic effects are relative, that the notion of aether was not necessary, and this was the revolutionary significance of his work. It should also be remembered that only in Einstein's work, the relativity theory appeared as a "theory", in the classic sense of the word (a system of affirmations, logically build on a few clear postulates). Thus, the creator of the theory of relativity in the proper sense of the word is, undoubtedly, Einstein.