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Does special relativity theory tell us anything new about space and time?

Szabó, László E. (2003) Does special relativity theory tell us anything new about space and time? UNSPECIFIED. (Unpublished)

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    Abstract

    It will be shown that, in comparison with the pre-relativistic Galileo-invariant conceptions, special relativity tells us nothing new about the geometry of spacetime. It simply calls something else "spacetime", and this something else has different properties. All statements of special relativity about those features of reality that correspond to the original meaning of the terms "space" and "time" are identical with the corresponding traditional pre-relativistic statements. It will be also argued that special relativity and Lorentz theory are completely identical in both senses, as theories about spacetime and as theories about the behavior of moving physical objects.

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    Item Type: Other
    Additional Information: New version uploaded August 2005.
    Keywords: special relativity, space-time, operationalism
    Subjects: General Issues > Theory Change
    General Issues > Theory/Observation
    Specific Sciences > Physics > Relativity Theory
    General Issues > History of Science Case Studies
    General Issues > Operationalism/Instrumentalism
    General Issues > Logical Positivism/Logical Empiricism
    Depositing User: Laszlo E. Szabo
    Date Deposited: 12 Aug 2003
    Last Modified: 07 Oct 2010 11:11
    Item ID: 1321
    Public Domain: No
    URI: http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/1321

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