arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Alma Teao Wilson.
Relativistic rapidity is usually presented as a computational device. As Levy-Leblond has shown, it is also the velocity that would be imputed by an ideal Newtonian inertial guidance system, taking c=1*neper=1. Here, we show that it can also be interpreted as the change in musical pitch of radiation fore and aft along the direction of motion.
Relativistic addition of velocities in one dimension, though a mainstay of introductory physics, contributes much less physical insight than it could. For such calculations, we propose the use of velocity factors (two-way doppler factors). Velocities can easily, often by inspection, be turned into velocity factors, and vice versa. Velocity factors compose by ordinary multiplication. This simple device considerably extends the kinds of questions that can be asked and answered in an introductory course.