"This raises a fundamental point regarding special relativity. Einstein's first postulate of special relativity states that the laws of physics are the same for all inertial reference frames. In other words, there are no preferred frames of reference, an observation made in one inertial frame of...
"How would he know that he is moving? By watching the ground move by? All motion is relative to something else. Suppose he could not see the ground or any buildings outside the train, only the unchanging tracks stretching out behind and before him- would that tell him he could was moving? Even...
"As Hootenanny said, that is misquoting Einstein. The observer on the platform sees the two bolts of lightning strike at the same time as the passenger on the train passes him. The passenger on the train does not see it that way."
That is not what I read. What I read said that two bolts of...
"The two strikes are simultaneous as seen by the observer on the platform. Simultinatiety is a relative concept. If two observers are in realtive motion and one finds two events to be simultaneous, in general the other will not."
That is my misunderstanding. If the lightning strikes hadn't...
I do not understand Einstein's thought experiment explaining special relativity. If I understand it correctly, you have two people. One is on the center of a moving train, and the other is on the ground next to the tracks. As the one on the train and the observer pass each other, lightning...