Recent content by Mad Dog

  1. M

    Will Replacing My Bike's Shock Absorber with Solid Steel Damage the Frame?

    To answer the original question (about replacing the shock absorber with a piece of solid steel): The answer is easily seen with a "reduction to the absurd" type argument: If you put a really soft spring on your bike, the force at the frame would obviously would be really soft too (, of...
  2. M

    When does Metric contain curved spacetime?

    Thank you Shoehorn- Please understand that I'm trying to learn GR (down here in the bowels of Mexico) from books and without the aid of either a teacher or fellow students. This forum is my only contact with those who know more than I, so I appreciate every response from anyone who offers their...
  3. M

    When does Metric contain curved spacetime?

    Thanks atyy. One could also get there calculating the Ricci and Weyl tensors, but... but... but... ain't there no easier way? The simple rule I gave worked in the 7 examples I've checked. Still wondering.
  4. M

    When does Metric contain curved spacetime?

    I’m aware that the metric contains information regarding both the coordinate system and the curvature of spacetime, and have been trying to understand how a glance at it could tell one if the spacetime it expressed is curved. At this point, I suspect that: If any of the metric components...
  5. M

    Coordinate Transformations in GR

    I'm replying here to my own question, as a contribution to the Forum: Even after having received the answers to my question, I continued to be concerned, and finally realized the answer is simple and obvious: The name of the field is "Relativity" and the key is right there - we're talking...
  6. M

    Coordinate Transformations in GR

    As I try to understand GR, I find coordinate transformations just about everywhere. My question is simply: What is the reason coordinate transformations play such an important role in GR? Thanks.
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