The structure of the Lorentz transformations follows purely from the absence of privileged inertial reference frames and the group structure of the transformations, two assumptions that are simple and physically necessary. The existence of an invariant speed is \textit{not} a necessary assumption, and in fact is a consequence of the principle of relativity (though the finite value of this speed must, of course, be obtained from experiment). Von Ignatowsky derived this result in 1911, but it is still not widely known and is absent from most textbooks. Here we present a completely elementary proof of the result, suitable for use in an introductory course in special relativity.
Getting the Lorentz transformations without requiring an invariant speed / Pelissetto, Andrea; Testa, Massimo. - In: AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. - ISSN 0002-9505. - STAMPA. - 83:(2015), pp. 338-347. [10.1119/1.4901453]
Getting the Lorentz transformations without requiring an invariant speed
PELISSETTO, Andrea;TESTA, Massimo
2015
Abstract
The structure of the Lorentz transformations follows purely from the absence of privileged inertial reference frames and the group structure of the transformations, two assumptions that are simple and physically necessary. The existence of an invariant speed is \textit{not} a necessary assumption, and in fact is a consequence of the principle of relativity (though the finite value of this speed must, of course, be obtained from experiment). Von Ignatowsky derived this result in 1911, but it is still not widely known and is absent from most textbooks. Here we present a completely elementary proof of the result, suitable for use in an introductory course in special relativity.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.