Special Relativity a Century Later – Could Einstein have erred?

Special Relativity from a different perspective

At the beginning of the last century, physics changed. Albert Einstein published his Theory of Relativity. Since then, it has been tested in thousands of experiments and confirmed. So, what could possibly be wrong?
Consider this. Einstein himself used thought experiments to demonstrate his point. In one such gedanken, he describes the measurement of time and distance using rigid rods and clocks. He imposed the requirement that all observers in inertial frames (ones moving at some constant velocity in a straight line) must measure the speed of a beam of light to be "c", a universal constant. This one condition led to a mathematical transform that defined how the units of space and time in one such frame would appear to an observer in a frame moving at some relative velocity. This transform was already known as the Lorentz Transform, having been developed about 20 years previously, using different assumptions. It correctly predicted the values of space and time coordinates in the moving frame, but with the publication of Special Relativity, there was a different explanation as to why. Here is my point. The transform predicts that both the units of time and space are different from the "stationary" observer's perspective. The unit of length is "contracted" and the unit of time is "dilated". Physical experiments confirmed both effects, and in his writings, Einstein asserted the realness of them. Two observers looking at the same object, at the same time, disagree on its length. In the case where the object is a measuring rod, assumed to be rigid, the conclusion is that the moving rod shrinks, although it does not appear so to an observer moving with the rod. Although it leads to accurate mathematics, the conclusion contradicts the premise that you can measure something with rigid rods. In mathematics, this is a technique known as proof by contradiction. One assumes the negative of the premise being proved. If it leads to a contradiction, it is a false premise, and the original one is therefore true. Einstein's gedanken thus can't prove the validity of his theory, it can only disprove the premise that you can measure anything with rigid rods. It doesn't mean that Special Relativity is wrong, but it doesn't prove it is right, either.

Some 5 years ago, I first posted these pages. at the time, it was very much a work in progress. I have just posted the first major revision in years. I have kept the earlier pages as archival material, so that my earlier naive speculations can be compared to the things I have since discovered. Some day, someone may be interested in how I got from alpha to omega. The site is still a work in progress, but I think that it is unlikely that I will discover anything radically different. Some of it might even turn out to be wrong. But the possibilities if it is right … simply amazing.

I will be tinkering with it, adding simulations, changing layouts, incorporating more background material from the years on social media, and so on. Fair warning, though. When it has reached a state of functionality, it will be a pay site. Nothing exorbitant, just a tip jar to help defray the expenses of supporting the site. But for now, it’s free, period. I will be setting up a link to my facebook Group so that comments can have a destination, so if you have anything to say, hang on.