Einstein and his theories.

[W1GUH]

Does anyone know of a book that traces Einstein's route from his thought experiments to his special and general theories? I've seen innumerable TV shows that talk in great detail about his thought experiments...but none of them have explained how he got from there to e = mc2.

Extra credit :twisted:

Anyone know of any texts at all that explain the "mechanics" (for lack of a better word) that make the proverbial clocks run slow? I know that's been proven experimentally a few times from different directions...but I've never seen an explanation of why moving clocks run slow. Or is this unknown today?

This is the kind of question that kept getting me in trouble in grade school. I kept asking a few teachers why a north pole of a magnet attracts a south pole of a magnet. I was sincerely fascinated with that question. Not one of those teachers would admit that they didn't know the answer (actually, nobody does yet). They ALL scolded me for being a smart-aleck. F'ing cretins!

[NQ6U]

For the extra credit part, try The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zuckoff. It's not an easy read but worth the effort.

[W1GUH]

I'll check it out.

[KG4CGC]

Einstein was a less celebrated member of the Order of the Golden Dawn.

[WØTKX]

For the extra credit part, try The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zuckoff. It's not an easy read but worth the effort.

Great book, as is the Crack in the Cosmic Egg. And I will always plug Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid.

Maybe this video would help?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHRK6ojWdtU


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHRK6ojWdtU

Something from Hofstadter...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcTlipEamEo


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcTlipEamEo

[N2NH]

Anyone know of any texts at all that explain the "mechanics" (for lack of a better word) that make the proverbial clocks run slow? I know that's been proven experimentally a few times from different directions...but I've never seen an explanation of why moving clocks run slow. Or is this unknown today?

Nope. It happens all the time. When it gets near quitting time, that clock never fails to slow down to a crawl.

[KG4CGC]

http://forums.hamisland.net/images/misc/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by W1GUH http://forums.hamisland.net/images/buttons/viewpost-right.png (http://forums.hamisland.net/showthread.php?p=328634#post328634)
Anyone know of any texts at all that explain the "mechanics" (for lack of a better word) that make the proverbial clocks run slow? I know that's been proven experimentally a few times from different directions...but I've never seen an explanation of why moving clocks run slow. Or is this unknown today?

Hmmm. The clock in the truck does tend to lose a couple of minutes over a period of a few months but, once it loses those 2 minutes, then that's it. It doesn't lose anymore.

[WØTKX]

Maybe this would help... from the man himself.

http://www.bartleby.com/173/

[KC2UGV]

Does anyone know of a book that traces Einstein's route from his thought experiments to his special and general theories? I've seen innumerable TV shows that talk in great detail about his thought experiments...but none of them have explained how he got from there to e = mc2.

Extra credit :twisted:

Anyone know of any texts at all that explain the "mechanics" (for lack of a better word) that make the proverbial clocks run slow? I know that's been proven experimentally a few times from different directions...but I've never seen an explanation of why moving clocks run slow. Or is this unknown today?

This is the kind of question that kept getting me in trouble in grade school. I kept asking a few teachers why a north pole of a magnet attracts a south pole of a magnet. I was sincerely fascinated with that question. Not one of those teachers would admit that they didn't know the answer (actually, nobody does yet). They ALL scolded me for being a smart-aleck. F'ing cretins!

The reason the clock runs slow is because gravity "warps" the perspective of time. Deeper "gravity well" = faster time moves.

[W5GA]

If it's a plug in the wall type clock, it's probably because the freq of the power is off a tad.

[NQ6U]

Hmmm. The clock in the truck does tend to lose a couple of minutes over a period of a few months but, once it loses those 2 minutes, then that's it. It doesn't lose anymore.

You're driving too fast. When you approach the speed of light, time slows down.

[W1GUH]

Clocks in the presence of computers run very fast.

[W1GUH]

For the extra credit part, try The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zuckoff. It's not an easy read but worth the effort.

I thumbed through it at the bookseller and it wasn't obvious where I would find what I'm looking for. The words in the TOC didn't seem to point me there.

Can you cite where in the book I'll find something like "...the physical causes and mechanics of time-dilation?"

Thanks

[n2ize]

Does anyone know of a book that traces Einstein's route from his thought experiments to his special and general theories? I've seen innumerable TV shows that talk in great detail about his thought experiments...but none of them have explained how he got from there to e = mc2.


To get a more solid understanding of where E=Mc^2 came from you need to take a look not just at Einstein but the work of all the great masters of that time period and the various contributions that were made that lent themselves to Einstein and his ideas. There were a l0t of M0dern ideas coming together at that time.

[n2ize]

I thumbed through it at the bookseller and it wasn't obvious where I would find what I'm looking for. The words in the TOC didn't seem to point me there.

Can you cite where in the book I'll find something like "...the physical causes and mechanics of time-dilation?"

Thanks

Check out Wikipedia. They pretty much sum it up in detail showing all the influencing factors and the relation between them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_dilation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_dilation

[kb2vxa]

"I kept asking a few teachers why a north pole of a magnet attracts a south pole of a magnet."

Because if they didn't attract each other the middle of the magnet would fall out... DUH?

"They ALL scolded me for being a smart-aleck. F'ing cretins!"

Naaa, just too slow to catch a quick wit.

[W1GUH]

"I kept asking a few teachers why a north pole of a magnet attracts a south pole of a magnet."

Because if they didn't attract each other the middle of the magnet would fall out... DUH?

"They ALL scolded me for being a smart-aleck. F'ing cretins!"

Naaa, just too slow to catch a quick wit.

Yea, but it all adds up to the same thing. Quote from the movie A Little Romance (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079477/):

"People hate smart kids."

I often wonder how much better my life would have been had they said, "You know what? Why don't you research that. We'll help you do that. Your curiosity is a GOOD thing." Instead of being cretins.

Hmmmm..OK...maybe belongs on the couch!

BTW...I loved that movie!

[kb2vxa]

You know what? Most of my teachers flipped me off and flew into a rage when I pointed out the occasional mistake. It made a good test of character though, I found my best teachers to be the ones who appreciated my intelligence and helped me with my studies, even researching related subjects not in the curriculum. With them I LOVED to stay after school and go over the books they brought me and let me borrow.

"People hate smart kids."
Funny, that angle is used in a new car commercial. "We were always compared to my overachieving cousin."

[X-Rated]

I know that while watching the March Madness, when I see a player shoot across the court near the speed of light to dunk the basketball, they show the point of view from another camera in motion where he is going real slow.