2017•Revista Brasileira de Ensino de FísicaOpen access

Can Lorentz transformations be determined by the null Michelson-Morley result?

J. A. S. Lima, F. D. Sasse

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Abstract

The so-called principle of relativity is able to fix a general coordinate transformation which differs from the standard Lorentzian form only by an unknown speed which cannot in principle be identified with the light speed. Based on a reanalysis of the Michelson-Morley experiment using this extended transformation we show that such unknown speed is analytically determined regardless of the Maxwell equations and conceptual issues related to synchronization procedures, time and causality definitions. Such a result demonstrates in a pedagogical manner that the constancy of the speed of light does not need to be assumed as a basic postulate of the special relativity theory since it can be directly deduced from an optical experiment in combination with the principle of relativity. The approach presented here provides a simple and insightful derivation of the Lorentz transformations appropriated for an introductory special relativity theory course.

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The so-called principle of relativity is able to fix a general coordinate transformation which differs from the standard Lorentzian form only by an unknown speed which cannot in principle be identified with the light speed. Based on a reanalysis of the Michelson-Morley experiment using this extended transformation we show that such unknown speed is analytically determined regardless of the Maxwell equations and conceptual issues related to synchronization procedures, time and causality definitions. Such a result demonstrates in a pedagogical manner that the constancy of the speed of light does not need to be assumed as a basic postulate of the special relativity theory since it can be directly deduced from an optical experiment in combination with the principle of relativity. The approach presented here provides a simple and insightful derivation of the Lorentz transformations appropriated for an introductory special relativity theory course.

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Available abstract

The so-called principle of relativity is able to fix a general coordinate transformation which differs from the standard Lorentzian form only by an unknown speed which cannot in principle be identified with the light speed. Based on a reanalysis of the Michelson-Morley experiment using this extended transformation we show that such unknown speed is analytically determined regardless of the Maxwell equations and conceptual issues related to synchronization procedures, time and causality definitions. Such a result demonstrates in a pedagogical manner that the constancy of the speed of light does not need to be assumed as a basic postulate of the special relativity theory since it can be directly deduced from an optical experiment in combination with the principle of relativity. The approach presented here provides a simple and insightful derivation of the Lorentz transformations appropriated for an introductory special relativity theory course.

Key concepts: Theory of relativity, Lorentz transformation, Principle of relativity, One-way speed of light, Causality (physics), Special relativity, Theoretical physics, Speed of light (cellular automaton)

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Can Lorentz transformations be determined by the null Michelson-Morley result? — Research Paper | ScholarLens