Einstein's Cat -- A Thought Experiment Against Anti-Relativist Claims

Abstract

When faced with overwhelming evidence supporting the reality of time dilation, confirmed in particular by the Hafele-Keating experiment, some anti-relativists reluctantly concede that time dilation applies to light clocks. However, they argue that the Theory of Relativity remains flawed, claiming that time dilation applies to light clocks only, not to massive objects. They assert that atomic clocks, which operate based on microwave radiation, merely create the illusion that the Hafele-Keating experiment confirms the theory. To refute this misconception, we introduce a thought experiment inspired by Schrodinger's cat, in which the fate of Einstein's cat depends on a "Sync-or-Die clock", an imaginary device that tests the synchronization between a light clock and a mechanical clock, potentially triggering the release of poison. By analyzing this scenario from both the inertial frame where the device is at rest and another in which it moves at constant velocity, we demonstrate that time dilation must apply to the mechanical clock in exactly the same way as it does to the light clock, highlighting the universality of relativistic time dilation.