There is no actual physical contraction. Relativistic compression is actually Terrell rotation. Here's a great vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQnHTKZBTI4 T On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 7:28 PM, Abd ul-Rahman Lomax <[email protected]> wrote: > Re: [Vo]:checking my understanding of Lorentz contraction > > At 02:04 PM 4/1/2010, Abd ul-Rahman Lomax wrote: > >> But there is a limit suggested by this, that the maximum flattening is by >> one-half. > > That is, that the Lorentz contraction is limited to one-half of the original > length (in the direction of motion) as the velocity approaches c. > > I looked at Wikipedia. I found the explanation there very difficult to > follow, but the article on Lorentz contraction certainly contradicts my > analysis, and I'm looking at why. Not now. Other Stuff to Do. > >
