Special Relativity

• Special Relativity Theory states that any object cannot travel faster than the speed of light and time and space are interwoven.
• It was first proposed by Albert Einstein in 1905, when Newtonian theory agreed that gravity influences the way we travel through space.
• Einstein's findings were disregarded at first, but as there were more studies of how celestial bodies were influenced over the years, Einstein's hypothesis was starting to make sense.

Dark Matter

• Dark Matter is matter that cannot be reflected by light, but we know of it's existence due to its gravitational influence on stars.
• Before the discovery of dark matter, it was believed that all things made up in the universe absorbs and reflect light.
• Using Einstein's general theory of relativity, we are able to map out where dark matter is in the cluster of galaxies using the bending of light.

Peter Scott Interview

Former UCSC Physics professor Peter Scott was very generous to provide his input on the study of SRT and its applications.

1. What would need to happen in order for the SRT (special

relativity theory) to become a part of the practical sciences?

SRT is by now very well established, and is, at least in some

sense, already always taken into account when discussing the

behavior of physical systems (which could be assumed to be

"practical sciences").

SRT describes how classical Newtonian mechanics must be modified

whenever the velocities of the particles or other parts of any

physical system become high, that is, approaching the speed of

light. Normally, since there are always limits to the accuracy

with which we can measure things (three decimal places is typical),

the low speed behavior is well-described by classical Newtonian

mechanics, identical to such behavior even if SRT is taken into

account. However if the velocity of some particle or other body

(a rocket ship?) is high, we need to take SRT into account when

describing the behavior of the particle. For example, a mu-meson

arriving at the Earth's atmosphere will typically be traveling at a

high speed, and therefore will have a longer lifetime (before

decaying into its constituent particles) than if that same particle

were at rest. This behavior is by now very well-tested, not only

with particles moving through the space beyond our Earth, but also

in every particle accelerator.

2. Do you believe the rate of development of SRT is accelerating or

slowing down?

Since it is well established, and has been for decades (see above),

it is neither.

3. If a new discovery comes to disprove SRT, how would the study of

physics and the understanding of our universe change?

Any change in our understanding of our universe would surely depend

on the nature of such a "new discovery". While I don't expect any

new discoveries that might disprove SRT, there are currently

behaviors of our universe that are NOT understood, such as the

"Standard Model" of particle physics, and the apparent presence of

"dark energy" and "dark matter". These are the main puzzles that

are now being worked upon, by folks much more familiar with them

than I am.