A one-map two-clock approach to teaching relativity in introductory physics
| dc.creator | Fraundorf, P. | |
| dc.date | 1996-11-13 | |
| dc.date | 1996-12-22 | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-07-07T09:04:48Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-07-07T09:04:48Z | |
| dc.description | 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. | |
| dc.description | 10 pages (1 fig, 3 tables) RevTeX; classroom-focus improved; also http://www.umsl.edu/~fraundor/a1toc.html | |
| dc.identifier | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9611011 | |
| dc.identifier | http://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9611011 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://salesiana.dossiersoluciones.com/handle/123456789/149512 | |
| dc.subject | Physics Education | |
| dc.subject | General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology | |
| dc.subject | Accelerator Physics | |
| dc.title | A one-map two-clock approach to teaching relativity in introductory physics | |
| dc.type | text |