- #1
Cleonis
Gold Member
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Some time ago someone introduced me to the following scenario.
Imagine you ship loads of oil rig pipes into space, and you assemble them to a length of many kilometers, and you start that long pipe spinning on its long axis. You add vibration damping, to get rid of any transverse, longitudinal and torsional vibration.
That long pipe can then be used as a mechanical device to establish simultaneity along the length of that pipe. Spaceships along the length can synchronize clocks by monitoring the instantaneous orientation of the long pipe.
Let there be two sets of spaceships, one set is co-moving with the long pipe, arranged with equal spacings along the length of the pipe. [added] (They are co-moving with the center-of-mass of the spinning pipe, but not "co-spinning".) [/added] The other set of spaceships is passing by the long pipe at relativistic speed, in the direction parallel to the pipe. Since this is a thought experiment we can extend the length of the pipe indefinately, so it's not in itself necessary to think about what happens at the ends.
Question:
As mapped in the coordinate system that is co-moving with the set of spaceships that is passing by, what is the shape of the spinning pipe?
The length of the pipe will be Lorentz-contracted, but here's the rub: if in that other frame the pipe would be simply straight it would violate relativity of simultaneity (as the pipe can be used to establish simultaneity).
The logical consequence is that as mapped in the coordinate system that is co-moving with the passing set of spaceships the long spinning pipe will be twisted, like the twist of a torsion bar under stress.
It's an illustration, of course, of the fact that (as in the example of Born rigidity) in special relativity perfectly rigid bodies do not exist. I don't quite fathom this long spinning pipe paradox yet. Accounting for the twist as mapped in the passing-by frame isn't straightforward. I'm interested in any comments and opinions.
Cleonis
Imagine you ship loads of oil rig pipes into space, and you assemble them to a length of many kilometers, and you start that long pipe spinning on its long axis. You add vibration damping, to get rid of any transverse, longitudinal and torsional vibration.
That long pipe can then be used as a mechanical device to establish simultaneity along the length of that pipe. Spaceships along the length can synchronize clocks by monitoring the instantaneous orientation of the long pipe.
Let there be two sets of spaceships, one set is co-moving with the long pipe, arranged with equal spacings along the length of the pipe. [added] (They are co-moving with the center-of-mass of the spinning pipe, but not "co-spinning".) [/added] The other set of spaceships is passing by the long pipe at relativistic speed, in the direction parallel to the pipe. Since this is a thought experiment we can extend the length of the pipe indefinately, so it's not in itself necessary to think about what happens at the ends.
Question:
As mapped in the coordinate system that is co-moving with the set of spaceships that is passing by, what is the shape of the spinning pipe?
The length of the pipe will be Lorentz-contracted, but here's the rub: if in that other frame the pipe would be simply straight it would violate relativity of simultaneity (as the pipe can be used to establish simultaneity).
The logical consequence is that as mapped in the coordinate system that is co-moving with the passing set of spaceships the long spinning pipe will be twisted, like the twist of a torsion bar under stress.
It's an illustration, of course, of the fact that (as in the example of Born rigidity) in special relativity perfectly rigid bodies do not exist. I don't quite fathom this long spinning pipe paradox yet. Accounting for the twist as mapped in the passing-by frame isn't straightforward. I'm interested in any comments and opinions.
Cleonis
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