The Wave Basis of Special Relativity

This book explains not only how Special Relativity (SR) works, but also WHY it works. SR does not require the postulates you will find in other books. Instead, the laws of SR can be deduced from the experimental observation that matter behaves like waves (see the animation “Underwater Relativity”). The Lorentz transformations apply to measurements made with waves even if those waves propagate in ordinary Galilean space-time. That is why Lorentz-invariant equations derived from classical models are consistent with SR. Examples include MacCullagh’s equation for light waves and Maxwell’s equations for electromagnetism. This book utilizes a simplified model of matter consisting of waves propagating in circles in order to explain how physical quantities transform due to relative motion. The straightforward logic and elegance of this approach is a pleasant alternative to the usual plug-and-chug presentation of relativity.