Abstract
THIS pamphlet gives a clear account of the fundamental bases of Einstein's special theory of relativity from the point of view of the logician. The author reaches the conclusion, with which relativists no doubt will agree, that Einstein's fundamental postulates of relativity and of the constancy of the velocity of light are logically inconsistent with each other so long as the absolute character of simultaneity is insisted upon. Moreover, he agrees with Einstein in his further conclusion that the two postulates together require that simultaneity be relative, in so far as two events, which happen at the same time for one observer, happen at different times for another observer in uniform motion relative to the first. But he maintains that, because the two fundamental principles are themselves merely postulates, the conclusion that simultaneity is relative is not proved, but merely postulated, and consequently its acceptance fails to remove the original contradiction between the two fundamental principles. Thus, he argues, we must reject the principle of relativity, if we accept that of the constancy of light-velocity, and admit that simultaneity is absolute, as we did before the introduction of Einstein's theory, a procedure which is tantamount to rejecting that theory as out of touch with reality.
Die spezielle Relativitätstheorie Einsteins und die Logik.
By Dr. J. H. Tummers. Pp. 15. (Venlo, Holland, 1924.) 1s.
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Die spezielle Relativitätstheorie Einsteins und die Logik. Nature 114, 713 (1924). https://doi.org/10.1038/114713b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/114713b0