Conceptual Foundations of Special and General Relativity

Charles Francis

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Conceptual Foundations of Special and General Relativity

Charles Francis

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Abstract

The k-calculus was advocated by Hermann Bondi as a means of explaining special relativity using only GCSE level mathematics and ideas. We review the central derivations, using proofs which are only a little more elegant than those in Bondi's books, and extend his development to include the scalar product and the mass shell condition. As used by Bondi, k is the Doppler red shift, and we extend the k calculus to include the gravitational red shift and give a derivation of Newton's law of gravity using only 'A' level calculus and basic quantum mechanics.

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Charles Francis. 1999-09-28. Conceptual Foundations of Special and General Relativity. https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9909048

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