dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaA one-map two-clock approach to teaching relativity in introductory physics
| Authors | P. Fraundorf |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/9611011 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9611011 |
Abstract
This paper presents some ideas which might assist teachers incorporating special relativity into an introductory physics curriculum. One can define the proper-time/velocity pair, as well as the coordinate-time/velocity pair, of a traveler using only distances measured with respect to a single ``map'' frame. When this is done, the relativistic equations for momentum, energy, constant acceleration, and force take on forms strikingly similar to their Newtonian counterparts. Thus high-school and college students not ready for Lorentz transforms may solve relativistic versions of any single-frame Newtonian problems they have mastered. We further show that multi-frame calculations (like the velocity-addition rule) acquire simplicity and/or utility not found using coordinate-velocity alone.
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"date_created": "2026-03-02T18:01:17.826000Z",
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"abstract": "This paper presents some ideas which might assist teachers incorporating\nspecial relativity into an introductory physics curriculum. One can define the\nproper-time/velocity pair, as well as the coordinate-time/velocity pair, of a\ntraveler using only distances measured with respect to a single ``map\u0027\u0027 frame.\nWhen this is done, the relativistic equations for momentum, energy, constant\nacceleration, and force take on forms strikingly similar to their Newtonian\ncounterparts. Thus high-school and college students not ready for Lorentz\ntransforms may solve relativistic versions of any single-frame Newtonian\nproblems they have mastered. We further show that multi-frame calculations\n(like the velocity-addition rule) acquire simplicity and/or utility not found\nusing coordinate-velocity alone.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/9611011",
"authors": [
"P. Fraundorf"
],
"categories": [
"physics.ed-ph",
"gr-qc",
"physics.acc-ph"
],
"title": "A one-map two-clock approach to teaching relativity in introductory physics",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9611011"
},
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