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ERIC Number: EJ1007702
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-Mar
Pages: 2
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-921X
EISSN: N/A
Moving Clocks Do Not Always Appear to Slow down: Don't Neglect the Doppler Effect
Wang, Frank
Physics Teacher, v51 n3 p154-155 Mar 2013
In popular accounts of the time dilation effect in Einstein's special relativity, one often encounters the statement that moving clocks run slow. For instance, in the acclaimed PBS program "NOVA," Professor Brian Greene says, "[I]f I walk toward that guy... he'll perceive my watch ticking slower." Also in his earlier piece for The New York Times, he writes that "if from your perspective someone is moving, you will see time elapsing slower for him than it does for you. Everything he does ... will appear in slow motion." We need to be care- ful with this kind of description, because sometimes authors neglect to consider the finite time of signal exchange between the two individuals when they observe each other. This article points out that when two individuals approach each other, everything will actually appear in fast motion--a manifestation of the relativistic Doppler effect. (Contains 1 figure.)
American Association of Physics Teachers. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3300; Fax: 301-209-0845; e-mail: pubs@aapt.org; Web site: http://scitation.aip.org/tpt
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A