How to Understand the Twin Paradox

Mark Louis Ricard

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12

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How to Understand the Twin Paradox

Mark Louis Ricard

Published in Advances in Sciences and Humanities (Volume 1, Issue 3)

Received: 18 August 2015 Accepted: 20 October 2015 Published: 20 October 2015

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Abstract

The twin paradox is often misunderstood, both in textbook and science popularizations. This article is intended to help clarify misconceptions involving the famous thought experiment. Of special importance is how we define the inertial frame in special theory of relativity. Another common factor that is overlooked involves the difference between time dilation, which is a consequence of the Lorentz transformations and the concept of look back time, which is independent of that. The concept of the invariant space-time interval and Minkowski diagrams are used in making these issues clearer.

Published in	Advances in Sciences and Humanities (Volume 1, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12
Page(s)	55-59
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Twin Paradox, Time Dilatation, Inertial Frame, Space-Time, Minkowski Diagrams, Special Theory of Relativity

References

[1]	C. W. Misner, K. S. Thorne, and J. A. Wheeler, Gravitation. W. H. Freeman & Company, New York, USA (1973).
[2]	A. P. French, Special Relativity. W. W. Norton & Company, New York, USA (1968).
[3]	M. Born, Einstein's Theory of Relativity, Tr. by H. L. Brose. Methuen & Company, London, UK (1924).
[4]	J. Ogborn, Introducing Relativity: Less May be More. Physics Education 40, 213-222 (2005).
[5]	E. F. Taylor and J. A. Wheeler, Spacetime Physics: Introduction to Special Relativity. W. H. Freeman & Company, New York, USA (1992).
[6]	H. A. Lorentz, A. Einstein, H. Minkowski, and H. Weyl, The Principle of Relativity: A Collection of Original Memoirs on the Special and General Theory of Relativity, with Notes by A. Sommerfeld, Tr. by W. Perrett and G.B. Jeffery. Dover Publications, New York, USA (1952).

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Mark Louis Ricard. (2015). How to Understand the Twin Paradox. Advances in Sciences and Humanities, 1(3), 55-59. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12

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ACS Style

Mark Louis Ricard. How to Understand the Twin Paradox. Adv. Sci. Humanit. 2015, 1(3), 55-59. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12

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AMA Style

Mark Louis Ricard. How to Understand the Twin Paradox. Adv Sci Humanit. 2015;1(3):55-59. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12,
  author = {Mark Louis Ricard},
  title = {How to Understand the Twin Paradox},
  journal = {Advances in Sciences and Humanities},
  volume = {1},
  number = {3},
  pages = {55-59},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ash.20150103.12},
  abstract = {The twin paradox is often misunderstood, both in textbook and science popularizations. This article is intended to help clarify misconceptions involving the famous thought experiment. Of special importance is how we define the inertial frame in special theory of relativity. Another common factor that is overlooked involves the difference between time dilation, which is a consequence of the Lorentz transformations and the concept of look back time, which is independent of that. The concept of the invariant space-time interval and Minkowski diagrams are used in making these issues clearer.},
 year = {2015}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - How to Understand the Twin Paradox
AU  - Mark Louis Ricard
Y1  - 2015/10/20
PY  - 2015
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12
T2  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
JF  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
JO  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
SP  - 55
EP  - 59
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-0984
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12
AB  - The twin paradox is often misunderstood, both in textbook and science popularizations. This article is intended to help clarify misconceptions involving the famous thought experiment. Of special importance is how we define the inertial frame in special theory of relativity. Another common factor that is overlooked involves the difference between time dilation, which is a consequence of the Lorentz transformations and the concept of look back time, which is independent of that. The concept of the invariant space-time interval and Minkowski diagrams are used in making these issues clearer.
VL  - 1
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Mark Louis Ricard

Independent Researcher, Monroeville, United States

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Mark Louis Ricard. (2015). How to Understand the Twin Paradox. Advances in Sciences and Humanities, 1(3), 55-59. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Mark Louis Ricard. How to Understand the Twin Paradox. Adv. Sci. Humanit. 2015, 1(3), 55-59. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Mark Louis Ricard. How to Understand the Twin Paradox. Adv Sci Humanit. 2015;1(3):55-59. doi: 10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12,
  author = {Mark Louis Ricard},
  title = {How to Understand the Twin Paradox},
  journal = {Advances in Sciences and Humanities},
  volume = {1},
  number = {3},
  pages = {55-59},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ash.20150103.12},
  abstract = {The twin paradox is often misunderstood, both in textbook and science popularizations. This article is intended to help clarify misconceptions involving the famous thought experiment. Of special importance is how we define the inertial frame in special theory of relativity. Another common factor that is overlooked involves the difference between time dilation, which is a consequence of the Lorentz transformations and the concept of look back time, which is independent of that. The concept of the invariant space-time interval and Minkowski diagrams are used in making these issues clearer.},
 year = {2015}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - How to Understand the Twin Paradox
AU  - Mark Louis Ricard
Y1  - 2015/10/20
PY  - 2015
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12
T2  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
JF  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
JO  - Advances in Sciences and Humanities
SP  - 55
EP  - 59
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2472-0984
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ash.20150103.12
AB  - The twin paradox is often misunderstood, both in textbook and science popularizations. This article is intended to help clarify misconceptions involving the famous thought experiment. Of special importance is how we define the inertial frame in special theory of relativity. Another common factor that is overlooked involves the difference between time dilation, which is a consequence of the Lorentz transformations and the concept of look back time, which is independent of that. The concept of the invariant space-time interval and Minkowski diagrams are used in making these issues clearer.
VL  - 1
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download