Hi Dave, Aspects of SR have always intrigued me, perhaps for its Alice-in-Wunderland spatial analysis qualities. With that qualification in mind...
... > Another false prediction of SR is that it doesn't matter > which object is moving [at] what velocity, since it is believed > there is no fixed reference frame. Yet, when cosmic rays > come streaming through the Earth, the Earth's mass does not > approach infinity, either. In fact, there is no reference > frame that exhibits infinite mass increase. > > Dave This is an interesting observation, one that wanders precariously into the realms of exotic philosophy and unsolvable Zen koans, rather than hard-core physics. My response to the alleged contradiction would be that it only matters (no pun intended) in regards to the point-of-view being taken at the time the personal observation is being made, which inevitably raises the question as to whose perception of the "universe" is the correct one. IMHO, we will only succeed in tying ourselves into unsolvable knots similar to religious fanaticism if we insist there MUST exist an ABSOLUTE frame of reference. SR, would seem to suggest there ain't no such animal and never was - period. I guess I should make a confession here and state for the record that those kinds paradoxical observations have always appealed to my new-agey POV. In more prosaic terms it depends on which frame of reference point is being assumed in order to EXPERIENCE THE OBSERVATION. If the observer assumes the relative speed of the speeding cosmic ray then the Earthly atom collided with "magically" becomes the culprit possessing the extra "mass." A very subtle point I think that is missed here is that the observation only makes sense in regards to the TWO ATOMIC NUCLEI that interact/collide with each other. The observation does not make any practical sense if extrapolated to include all the rest of the Earthly atoms that have not been interacted with, even though that might seem to be a natural conclusion to draw. OTOH, if we are at rest with all the rest of the atoms on planet Earth we can assume that the extra "mass" resides in the speeding cosmic ray being interacted with. This suggests that it is incorrect to assume that extra "mass" exists in all other speeding earthly atoms, as referenced from the point of view of the speeding cosmic ray). Likewise, it is incorrect to assume that other cosmic rays that may be flying around (but have NOT been collided with) possess extra "mass" either. Bottom line: It's only whom you're having the brief torrid affair with that counts. Everyone else are just innocent bystanders in which there is only the potential to have a brief torrid affair with. Such Zen koan-like observations invariably raise the legitimate question as to HOW is it that this extra "mass" can behave in such a fickle manner. After all - WHO REALLY POSSESSES THE EXTRA MASS!!!! IMHO, the extra "mass" really doesn't exist per-say, but rather the extra "mass" is simply being used as an expedient vehicle in order to make the SR equations make sense. But perhaps I have exceeded my area of expertise on the matter. ;-) Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com
