Length contraction, polebarn paradox, faster than light e ects chapt. The rocketsandstring and poleandbarn paradoxes revisited and a new paradox authors. I see there is already some confusion going on in the other answers, with some downright dodgy explanations going on so lets try and set the record straight. It uses encapsulated postscript versions of many wikimedia commons diagrams, using their.
Jan 27, 2017 perhaps the most famous paradox of this sort is the twin paradox of special relativity. Another thing to keep in mind is that rigid objects dont really exist in special relativity rigidity is a concept that requires simultaneity of the motion, but theres always a frame in which the object is. Introduction special relativity general relativity applications circle geometry hyperbola geometry. Special relativity sr says that a moving object is contracted in the. Special relativity is a featured book on wikibooks because it contains substantial content, it is wellformatted, and the wikibooks community has decided to feature it on the main page or in other places. It is in no sense a provisional theory and is largely compatible with quantum theory. The paradoxes were selected, it seems, because alkhalili believes they are all resolved. The myths of special relativity 3 just like the twins, is the reciprocity of observers. You also have a pole, 80 metres long, which of course wont fit in the barn. Special relativity special relativity luminiferous aether. Another thing to keep in mind is that rigid objects dont really exist in special relativity rigidity is a concept that requires simultaneity of the motion, but theres always a frame in which the object is distorted as one end of it starts moving before the other. The interpretation of special relativity that is presented here should be learnt before advancing to more advanced interpretations.
Homework statement the pole and barn paradox suppose a very fast runner v0. According to relativity, in your reference frame, the barn is shorter tha. However the details of this process arent necessary to resolve the paradox. The length contraction in relativity is symmetrical. Time changes are special physics nowadays uses the polebarn paradox as a parable to reinforce this. Please continue to improve it and thanks for the great work so far. A graphical introduction to special relativity based on a. Pereray department of physics, illinois wesleyan university, p. The ladder is imagined passing through the open front and rear doors of a garage or. Can a pole that is longer than a barn completely fit inside the barn. But this polebarn paradox cannot solve the basic problem contained in special relativity. The paradoxes he covers are the monty hall problem, zenos paradoxes, olbers paradox, maxwells demon, the polebarn paradox in special relativity, the twin paradox, the grandfather paradox, laplaces demon, schrodingers cat paradox, and fermis paradox. Physics videos by eugene khutoryansky 829,460 views. The bugrivet paradox an idealised bug of negligible dimensions is hiding at the end of a hole of length l.
A pole is 20m long, a barn is 10m long, but the pole is moving at u0. Length of pole and barn when stationary relative to one another 3. Lorentz transformation, time dilation, twin paradox chapt. Philosophical lessons of the pole and barn although considerations based on contemporary spacetime theories, such as special and general relativity.
Some paradoxes in special relativity rochester institute of. Lec6 lecture 6 pole and barn paradox p 4850 textbook l1. Pole in a barn paradox in special relativity this is a classic braintwister, up there with the twins. Introduction the special theory of relativity was developed at the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century. Special relativity is a theory of exceptional elegance. The famous twin paradox and polebarn paradox, lec 08.
As soon as both ends of the pole are in the barn, slam the doors. Some paradoxes in special relativity because special relativity deals with events which are outside the boundaries of our everyday experience, it leads to some predictions which go against our common sense. This nonontological explanation is what physics accepted. It entirely replaced older physical theories such as newtonian physics and led to early quantum theory and general relativity. Twin paradox the story is that one of a pair of twins leaves on a high speed space journey during which he travels at a large fraction of the speed of light while the other remains on the earth. The famous twin paradox and pole barn paradox, lec 08. The polevaulter on the outside of the barn begins running toward one of the open doors, holding the pole level in the direction he is running. A paradox is an argument that produces an inconsistency, typically within logic or common sense. The myths of special relativity can it explain anything. The pole and barn paradox, and the death of simultaneity 2.
Beyond the polebarn paradox for the given values of 0 and l0 this means that the son should run with speed. You have a pole which is exactly as long as the barn at rest. In bells version of the thought experiment, two spaceships, which are initially at rest in some common inertial reference frame are connected by a taut. Special relativity general relativity applications books the geometry of special relativity. Special relativity and steps towards general relativity course. Moving objects are contracted and moving clocks run slow, both by the. What is the pole in the barn paradox in relativity. The principle of relativity introduction special relativity sr or the special theory of relativity was discovered by albert einstein and first published in 1905 in the article on the electrodynamics of moving bodies. The fact that two events are simultaneous in one frame of reference does not imply that they are simultaneous as seen by an observer moving at a relativistic speed with respect to that frame.
The pole and the barn10 aapt summer meeting 1991, vancouver, british columbia conclusions the worksheet provides a concrete, visual approach to a significant problem in relativity. The pole and barn paradox or the ladder and garage paradox pose the question. The bugrivet paradox is a variation on the twin paradox and is similar to the pole barn paradox in that the ideas of simultaneity in relativity must be addressed. Time also ticks faster at higher heights but by such a tiny amount that an object moving at 0. It replaced newtonian notions of space and time and it incorporates maxwells theory of electromagnetism. The pole and barn paradox ladder and garage paradox. This file is the special relativity lecture of the wikiversity.
It involves a ladder, parallel to the ground, travelling horizontally at relativistic speed near the speed of light and therefore undergoing a lorentz length contraction. When two observers in relative motion pass each other they both measure a contraction of length. The rocketsandstring and pole and barn paradoxes revisited and a new paradox authors. Perhaps the most famous paradox of this sort is the twin paradox of special relativity. Length contraction, pole barn paradox, faster than light e ects chapt. Field submitted on 19 mar 2004 v1, last revised 30 nov 2007 this version, v3. It is in pdf format for convenient viewing as a fullscreen, structured presentation in a classroom.
Special relativity wikibooks, open books for an open world. Because of time dilation, time is running more slowly in the spacecraft as seen by the earthbound twin and the traveling twin will find that the. Verification of einsteins relativity showing 116 of 16 messages. Introduction to relativity, michelsonmorley experiment chapt. Jul 30, 2008 if the doors shut simultaneously in the runners rest frame, in the barn s own rest frame the back door must close later than the front door, not earlier. A note on linking electrical current, magnetic fields.
The paradoxes he covers are the monty hall problem, zenos paradoxes, olbers paradox, maxwells demon, the pole barn paradox in special relativity, the twin paradox, the grandfather paradox, laplaces demon, schrodingers cat paradox, and fermis paradox. Only simple concepts are required for the analysis. The twin paradox in special and general relativity. The ladder is imagined passing through the open front and rear doors of a garage or barn which is shorter than its rest length, so if. Thats not a bad thing its just due to our lack of experience. A graphical introduction to special relativity based on a modern approach to minkowski diagrams b. The bugrivet paradox the bugrivet paradox is a variation on the twin paradox and is similar to the polebarn paradox in that the ideas of simultaneity in relativity must be addressed. View notes lec6 from phys 342 at purdue university. Osu 42715 tevian dray the geometry of relativity 1227. The contraction could only be, and was seen as, a measurement effect. As a result, fatal paradoxes of conveyor belts and ehrenfest happen. Special relativitysimultaneity, time dilation and length. In this video we talk about aspects of special relativity like length contraction and simultaneous events to solve einsteins pole in the barn paradox.
The fact that two events are simultaneous in one frame of reference does not imply that they are simultaneous as seen by an observer moving at a relativistic speed with respect to. See the many related ladder pole barn paradox images. Will the pole fit completely into the barn as it passes through. If it is moving at relativistic speeds the theory of relativity says that it can at least in some reference frames. Einsteins theory of special relativity makes several predictions, some of which seem counter intuitive. August 11, 2015 abstract we present a comprehensive introduction to the kinematics of special relativity based on.
Itd have to work out so that if the back end of the rod has passed through the front end of the barn before the front door shut in the barn s rest frame, then that would always mean that by the time the back door shut the front end of the. On the real and apparent positions of moving objects in special relativity. Special relativity and steps towards general relativity. Skim for understanding the supplemental attachment the michelsonmorley experiment 3. If youre interested in physics, youve probably heard of this paradox, and probably know the solution. The ladder paradox or barn pole paradox is a thought experiment in special relativity. The bugrivet paradox is a variation on the twin paradox and is similar to the polebarn paradoxthe end of the.
Length of pole and barn when stationary relative to one another. A rivet has a shaft length of a jun 12, 2009 homework statement the pole and barn paradox suppose a very fast runner v0. The bugrivet paradox memorial university of newfoundland. But this pole barn paradox cannot solve the basic problem contained in special relativity. A rivet has a shaft length of a magnetic fields, charges and the pole in a barn paradox in special relativity article in european journal of physics 296. The geometry of relativity oregon state university. What is the solution to the ladder paradox in special relativity. The classic pole in barn relativity question physics forums. But recently i was thinking about this paradox in general relativity, which turns out to have some fun consequences. Special relativity and steps towards general relativityimage gallery. The ladder paradox or barnpole paradox is a thought experiment in special relativity. Special relativity is now one of the foundation blocks of physics. The universe actually follows general relativity which extremely closely follows special relativity because the speed of light is so fast. He describes an experiment now known as bells spaceship paradox even if bell did not invent it.
But recently i was thinking about this paradox in general relativity. How to teach special relativity is a famous article by john bell where he advocates that the way we teach relativity does not give good results. It is in courses of sr that students will be exposed to the relativity of simultaneity and a variety of paradoxes, having to do with time dilation and differential aging 1, 2, length contraction and the polebarn paradox 3, bridges. You own a barn, 40 metres long, with automatic doors at either end, that can be opened and closed simultaneously by a switch. A note on linking electrical current, magnetic fields, charges and the pole in a barn paradox in special relativity article in european journal of physics 296. What is the solution to the ladder paradox in special. Special relativity and steps towards general relativityimage. Jul 04, 20 can a pole that is longer than a barn completely fit inside the barn. The pole and the barn california state polytechnic.