Twin Paradox (3 objects version)

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion centers on the Twin Paradox involving three objects: A, B, and C, all in relative motion along the x-axis. The participants analyze the time readings on A's clock during two key events: when C passes B and when C passes A. The calculations reveal that at Event 2, A's clock reads 6.25, and at Event 3, it reads 12.5, confirming the relativistic effects of time dilation and simultaneity. The discussion emphasizes the importance of using Lorentz transformations and spacetime diagrams to accurately analyze such scenarios.

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  • Familiarity with Lorentz transformations and their applications.
  • Basic knowledge of spacetime diagrams (Minkowski diagrams).
  • Ability to perform algebraic calculations involving relativistic equations.
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  • #31
Sagittarius A-Star said:
Equation (1) would also be valid, if I had chosen the same event as origin for both frames.
Yes. This is in agreement with what I said. Just remove the ##\Delta##s from Equation (1) and you have the Lorentz transformation bewteen the two frames when they both have the same event as the origin.
 
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  • #32
PeterDonis said:
Just remove the ##\Delta##s from Equation (1) and you have the Lorentz transformation bewteen the two frames when they both have the same event as the origin.
Yes. If ##\Delta x## gets replaced by ##x## (and the same for y, z, t coordinates) , this means, that ##x_2 - x_1## gets replaced by ##x - 0##. This would be equivalent to defining the origin as one of the two events.

Source for Lorentz transformation of deltas and differentials (equations 7 and 8):
http://www.scholarpedia.org/article...nematics#Galilean_and_Lorentz_transformations
 
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  • #33
Of course, Minkowski space is not only a Lorentzian vector space but an affine manifold with the translations as additional symmetry, i.e., the complete continuous symmetry group is the proper orthochronous Poincare group, including space-time translations.
 

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