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ERIC Number: EJ984060
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-Apr
Pages: 2
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-921X
EISSN: N/A
The Square Light Clock and Special Relativity
Galli, J. Ronald; Amiri, Farhang
Physics Teacher, v50 n4 p212-213 Apr 2012
A thought experiment that includes a square light clock is similar to the traditional vertical light beam and mirror clock, except it is made up of four mirrors placed at a 45[degree] angle at each corner of a square of length L[subscript 0], shown in Fig. 1. Here we have shown the events as measured in the rest frame of the square light clock. By studying the same cycle of events measured in a frame of reference where the square light clock is in motion with speed of "v", we can derive both time dilation and, independently, length contraction. This will be done by analyzing the changing dimensions and also the one-cycle timing for this square light clock.
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 - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A