The Twin Paradox How To Win The Debate

1
The Twin Paradox/How To WinThe Debate
2
The Twin Paradox Brief Background

• Einstein derives symmetric time dilation
• Therefore, if two clocks start together and one
  makes a round trip, a net proper time difference
  (NPTD) will result
• Quickly led to the Clock Paradox - How Does One
  Get An Asymmetric Effect From Symmetric Causes?

3
How has the Debate Been Handled?

• Mainstream There is no paradox or problem
• Wikipedia Echoes That View I tried to enter one
  line in Twin Paradox article about Dingle and was
  burned at the stake
• Mainstream Accepts a wide variety of
  reconciliation arguments (RAs) many of which
  are mutually exclusive

4

• Post Dingle Papers rebutting any of these RAs
  are explicitly banned from mainstream journals
• 1-On-1 debates with professors are unsatisfactory
• Confident in their position even if they were
  backed into a corner, they resort to You dont
  understand SRT

5
New Technique For Debating Twin Paradox

• Get opponent to convince himself by his own
  statements
• For each class of RA, get opponent to answer
  specific, non-controversial questions up front
• Keep opponent from mixing observed time with
  proper time - limit discussion to pairs of
  events and the associated proper time Dont
  compare travelers proper time to Stay-At-Homes
  clock readings

6

• Ask opponent to specify how much proper time
  accumulates for each segment of the traveling
  twins round trip
• After opponent has defined his position in
  detail, ask him to address specific problems
• Optional Slightly modified scenarios

7
RA 1 NPTD Accumulates During Constant Velocity
Segments

• Cause is relative velocity or relative
  simultaneity which are symmetric
• Mixes Observed Time with Proper Time
• Unconscious Assumption that Starting Frame is
  Unique Frame

8
Key Up Front Points

• 1/2 the NPTD accumulates in outbound and 1/2 in
  inbound
• The NPTD accumulates smoothly
• All clocks in a frame tick at the same rate
• If a clock accumulates a NPTD versus one clock in
  another frame, then it also accumulates the
  same NPTD versus all other clocks in that other
  inertial frame

9
Sample Scenario

• V 0.866c, time dilation factor ½
• Stay-At-Home 200,000,000,000 ticks
• Traveler 50,000,000,000 out in
• Periods of acceleration made arbitrarily small
  wrt constant velocity segments

10
Twin Paradox Scenario Events

• E1-E2 (Travelers outbound trip)
  E3
• ?V----------------------------------------------
  ----------------V?
• S(Stay-At-Home remains at rest )
  E4
• ?V----------------------------------------------
  ----------------V?
• E7-E6 (Travelers inbound trip)
  E5

11
Argument

• Agreeing that NPTD accumulates equally and
  smoothly for constant velocity segments implies
  that the clock in the T-out frame loses proper
  time vs all clocks in S for all of E2-E3
• However, if one adds a 2nd Twin Paradox scenario
  where T-out now also plays the role of the
  stay-at-home twin and the new traveling triplet
  is at rest in S during the outbound leg and the
  whole 2nd scenario begins at E2 and ends at E3,
  then RA 1 leads to a contradictory conclusion
  that the T-out clock gains vs all clocks in S for
  part of E2-E3 

12
Optional Argument

• Replace initial acceleration (E1-E2) with
  arbitrarily near miss
• Then for the outbound constant velocity segment,
  the time dilation effect occurs before one
  determines who will be the traveling twin!?!

13
RA 2 NPTD Accumulates During Turnaround
Acceleration

• Cause is asymmetric, turnaround acceleration,
  changing frames, virtual gravitational field, or
  rel. simultaneity
• NPTD calculations use distance of separation
  between twins at turnaround

14
Key Up Front Points

• 1/2 the NPTD accumulates in E3-E4 and 1/2 in
  E4-E5
• All clocks in a frame tick at the same rate
• If a clock accumulates a NPTD versus one clock in
  another frame, then it also accumulates the
  same NPTD versus all other clocks in that other
  inertial frame

15
Argument Fill In Table
16
Optional Argument

• Add a 2nd scenario, also starting in S with T
  accelerating to 0.866c, but have 1/10th the
  duration and arrange it so the turnaround for
  both scenarios will be at virtually the same
  place and time
• Ask, How can same turnaround parameters yield
  radically different effects?

17
RA 3 Minkowski Spacetime, Invariance of the
Interval

• RA 3 is really RA 1 its just the relative
  velocity argument in disguise
• SRTs Time Dilation Equation is used with an
  implied meaning thats compatible with LAT not
  SRT
• Mixes Observed Time and Proper Time

18
Notes

• http//TwinParadox.net (all the details)
• Designed Experiment Where Traveling Twin Gains
  Proper Time
• NPA Sponsored (Public) Debate

19
Part IIImplications For SRT Observations
From A Long Odyssey
20
Thoughts From My Odyssey

• Physical, Asymmetric Time Dilation As A Function
  of Velocity WRT A Unique Frame Is The Only Viable
  Cause For the NPTD
• Tried To Derive Alternative to SRT And
  (unknowingly) Derived LAT-like (w/o ether)
  -Called it ESRT
• LAT-like physical spacetime model underlies SRTs
  observed spacetime models

21
SRT LAT Predict Same Results

• In the Twin Paradox, no matter what frame is used
  as the starting frame, relative velocity predicts
  same NPTD as LATs absolute velocity
• For a Wide Range of Phenomena, SRT and LAT
  predict same results
• Tried To Define Experiment Where LAT Was Right
  vs SRT Very Difficult- An Exception Selleris
  Sagnac Experiment

22
Same Results For Kinematics

• For LAT/ESRT, the concept of absolute kinetic
  energy is used
• In a collision, the total amount of absolute
  kinetic energy may differ from total amount of
  relative kinetic energy, but conservation laws
  make it so that the amount of available energy
  for particle creation is the same

23
Machian View

• LAT time dilation a function of difference in
  absolute kinetic energy
• Same phenomenon as GRT time dilation as a
  function of difference in grav. pot.
• Absolute kinetic energy is f(Absolute Motion wrt
  mass/energy configuration)

24
Modified SRT

• Remove Last Three Paragraphs of Einsteins 1905
  SRT paper most paradoxes/problems disappear as
  they are now outside the domain of SRT
• 2nd Postulate becomes The speed of light is
  observed to be c by all inertial observers

25
Modified SRT

• 1st Postulate becomes The mathematical form of
  the laws of physics for observations are
  invariant in all inertial systems
• Interestingly, for LAT/ESRT, the mathematical
  form remains the same, but the meaning changes

26
Lorentz Geometry (LG)

• LG can describe SRT view where each observer
  observes himself to be in the unique frame where
  all other frames seem to have slower clocks and
  shorter (in the direction of motion) meter sticks
• Alternatively, LG can describe LAT view of there
  being a unique frame where all other frames
  actually have slower clocks, etc.

27
My Conclusion

• (Modified) SRT LAT-Like Theory Both Correct
  But Cover Different Domains
• LAT describes physical spacetime which is
  obscured cant even tell which is the unique
  frame
• SRT describes how each observer observes
  spacetime is derivable from LAT/ESRT

28
Prokhovnik, Builder, Frankl

• Some Otherwise Respected Physicists Have Come
  To Similar Conclusions
• Frankl starts with classical Doppler Effect as
  f(velocities wrt medium) and uses Relativitys
  Addition of (observed) Velocities to derive
  relativistic Doppler Effect for 2D (Am. J. Phys,
  52(4), April 1984)

29
How has the Debate Been Handled?

• NPA is to SRT as physics comm. is to LAT (Not in
  Video Conferences, but in email discussions,
  etc.)
• All anti-SRT attacks accepted, all defenses
  automatically rejected
• Principle 9 There is not a shred of evidence
  even claimed to exist as confirmation of the
  reciprocity feature of SR Really???????

30
E.G., Dividing By Zero
31

• Work Formula NOT key to deriving SRT
• Not dividing by zero since, in SRT, v cant equal
  c
• Even if v could equal c that does not
  automatically invalidate whole theory, but just
  for that special case

32
Something To Think About

• At the very least, SRT So Often Gives The Right
  Answer It Must Point to Some Very Significant
  Property of Spacetime
• Being Dismissive Blinds One to that Clue
• Easier To Sell To Mainstream

33
References

• AN ASYMMETRIC MODEL OF SPACE-TIME BUILT ON
  LORENTZ GEOMETRY AND THE RESULTING EXTENSIONS OF
  SPECIAL RELATIVITY (Physics Essays Vol 7 2 ,
  1994)
• A FULL UNDERSTANDING OF THE TWIN PARADOX REQUIRES
  AN EXTENSION OF SPECIAL RELATIVITY  The Twin
  Paradox Analyzed Using Two Different Space-Time
  Models (Physics Essays Vol 8 1 , 1995)

34

• Special Relativity Inconsistent Or Just
  Incomplete (A Reply To McCauslands Reply)
  (Physics Essays Vol 11 1 , 1998)
• The Extension of Special Relativity Algebraic
  Equivalence For Observations Plus A New
  Prediction" (Physics Essays Vol 12 4 , 1999)
• Correcting The Flaw In Special Relativity That
  Leads To The Twin Paradox Reflections on a
  Debate With I. J. Good And I. McCausland (Physics
  Essays Vol 13 4 , 2000)

35

• A Very Doable Experiment for NASA to Look Inside
  the Twin Paradox (Physics Essays Vol. 19 1,
  2006)