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1994•American Journal of PhysicsRequires access

How Galileo could have derived the special theory of relativity

Achin Sen

Open publisher page 46 citations

Abstract

The kinematic results of the special theory of relativity are derived using only the first (Galilean) postulate and the results of one simple thought experiment. Our method is mathematically simple and, therefore, can be used in an algebra based introductory physics course. It is also pedagogically attractive because the relativistic results follow as a natural extension of the familiar Newtonian ones.

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What this paper is about

The kinematic results of the special theory of relativity are derived using only the first (Galilean) postulate and the results of one simple thought experiment. Our method is mathematically simple and, therefore, can be used in an algebra based introductory physics course. It is also pedagogically attractive because the relativistic results follow as a natural extension of the familiar Newtonian ones.

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OpenAlex reports 46 citations for this work. Citation counts describe recorded attention and do not establish research quality.

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Available abstract

The kinematic results of the special theory of relativity are derived using only the first (Galilean) postulate and the results of one simple thought experiment. Our method is mathematically simple and, therefore, can be used in an algebra based introductory physics course. It is also pedagogically attractive because the relativistic results follow as a natural extension of the familiar Newtonian ones.

Key concepts: Galilean, Physics, Theory of relativity, Galileo (satellite navigation), Simple (philosophy), Special relativity, Kinematics, Theoretical physics

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