Mister T said:
The one on the embankment. Your thought experiment is set up so that only he receives the two flashes at the same time.
Once again MANY THANKS to ALL posters for the very informative, thoughtful and helpful discussion.A train was moving with a constant speed along the very straight tracks when two lightnings perforated it vertically in two different places, leaving unmistakable holes under the train in the ground between the railways.
Mik was cringing in a dunk Earth pit between the tracks somewhere in-between the holes made by the lightnings in the GROUND, the sensors of his dispenser sticking out. Mit1 was enjoying life in a first class train compartment somewhere in-between the holes made by lightning strikes in the TRAIN, his dispenser on a velvet carpet nearby.
Mik and Mit1 both knew that their dispensers will drop beer bottles if and only if two light rays, coming from opposite directions, both touch a dispenser at exactly the same time. They have read also that a panel of philanthropists on a cruise ship is watching our discussion and will give a
free iPhone 6s Plus 128GB (Rose Gold) to who of them will tweet an
undisputable proof that he had determined FROM HIS SURROUNDING (aka reference system – train or ground respectively) that the two thunderstorm lightnings in question took place simultaneously.
As it happened the Mik’s dispenser did drop a bottle and as soon as the train had passed Mik climbed out of the pit and hurried to measure (along the straight line connecting the holes), with HIS rigid measuring rod, the distances from HIS dispenser sensors to each of the holes made by the lightnings in the GROUND.
Hurrah! he cried, as both these distances were exactly the same, and tweeted joyously:
My dispenser, positioned on the GROUND exactly in-between the lightning holes in the GROUND (as measured along the GROUND), dropped a bottle and therefore the two light signals that contacted my dispenser at the same time had traveled (from the lightnings to the dispenser) exactly the same time which means that these signals were generated by lightnings at the same time, which is the proof that AS DETERMINED ON THE GROUND the two lightnings DID happen SIMULTANEOUSLY.
Mit1 also determined (with HIS rigid measuring rod) INSIDE the MOVING TRAIN that the distances from the two MOVING holes (in the TRAIN) along the MOVING straight line towards the sensors of HIS dispenser (which was MOVING with the TRAIN’s velvet support) are exactly equal and tweeted cheerfully in almost the same words as Mik (instead of GROUND there were the words TRAIN) that he has HIS proof that AS DETERMINED FROM THE TRAIN the lightnings DID happen SIMULTANEOUSLY.
Both Mik and Mit1 looked forward in high spirits to a FedEx personal parcel with the
Apple iPhone, but as it happened only Mik did actually receive it.
Philanthropists found Mit1’s description of the events on the train and his tweet, that he has proved FROM THE TRAIN that the lightnings struck the TRAIN simultaneously, implausible as being just a copycat of the Mik’s indubitable facts and proof, which were stolen from Mik by Chinese hackers.
To add insult to injury Mik for his part has tweeted that ONLY his proof of simultaneity is true and that he DISAGREES with the Mit1’s claim on the Apple as HE Mik had OBSERVED personally that the Mit1’s dispenser on the train was speeding TOWARD one and AWAY from another of the two places where HE Mik had found the lightning footprints in the GROUND, and that HE Mik CONSIDERS this observation as an unquestionable evidence that the Mit1’s dispenser SHOULD have stumbled into the light signal from the TRAIN’s front hole before the signal from the rear hole COULD have caught with this dispenser.
While Mik was enjoying the
free Apple (for his successful proof of the lightnings’ simultaneity as determined on the Ground), Mit1 was beside himself and suspecting the role played by his gender, race, religion, skin color, sexual orientation, marital status, birth of place, citizenship, party affiliation, etc., Mit1 decided to fight for his constitutional rights to have
the Apple also, and he tweeted again:
I will claim my
free Apple in the Court with the following factual evidence:
A) This was an elite train that was MOVING so quiet, soft and UNIFORM that the passengers felt as if it was still staying put.
B) A written statement from Prof. Einstein: “People traveling in this train will with advantage use the train as a rigid reference body (co-ordinate system); they regard all events in reference to the train”
C) The bottle dropping testifies that the two light signals have reached the dispenser on the TRAIN at the same exact time. The dropping was witnessed by a high ranking traveler (on her election campaign trip), and in case she is suspected of lying the dropping is recorded in the dispenser’s hardware.
D) The distances ALONG THE TRAIN from the dispenser to the FRONT and the REAR places on the TRAIN where the lightnings struck the TRAIN were exactly equal.
According to Prof. Einstein’s statement it is LEGITIMATE TO MEASURE INSIDE AND ALONG THE MOVING TRAIN THE DISTANCES which the light rays, that have brought to the TRAIN dispenser the information about the lightnings piercing the TRAIN, had travelled. This statement gives a strong support to the validity and preeminence of my proof against the critique and considerations presented by Mit.
Because these DISTANCES were measured as EXACTLY THE SAME and these RAYS TOUCHED THE DISPENSER AT EXACTLY THE SAME MOMENT these information rays had TRAVELLED (along the MOVING TRAIN) EXACTLY THE SAME TIME and therefore ORIGINATED (at the points where the lightnigs struck the train) AT THE SAME TIME, and that therefore the lightnings DID happen and strike the train SIMUTANEOUSLY.
I will petition the Court to give preference (against the Mik’s rejection, by CONTEMPLATION) to My FACTS and MEASAUREMENTS based proof, so that I also get a free Apple for the lightnings SIMULTANEITY determined by me Mit1 FROM THE MOVING TRAIN as undeniable as their SIMULTANEITY was determined by Mik FROM THE GROUND.
