My final research question changes to:
"Is the Twin Paradox Theory a paradox and is it relevant?"
The stance that I took on my topic was; The Twin Paradox Theory is not only relevant to our society due to technological advances, but it is also a paradox that can be found at the change of speed in the traveler’s return trip (“C”).
To answer this, I decided I would just post my explanatory paper I gave the teacher. It is an outline of how I came to my conclusion on the paradox. I will also include the sources I used during my research. I will apologies in advance because I will be unable to post my diagrams (from my poster board) online, but I hope you remember what it looked like.
Here it is:
-Making your argument-
1. The first thing to note before making my argument is summarizing what the Twin Paradox Theory is. It is a theory summarized in a story format to illustrate the altered reference frame of space time and its effects within the realm of Special Relativity. NASA summarizes the story as, “there were two twins; one who stayed on Earth while the other took a long journey into space. When the twin who was in space returns, they find their sibling had aged faster and that they were younger.”
2. Another important factor to my argument is the importance of understanding the theory of General relativity. This is important because without understanding the basics of General Relativity, one would not be able to understand the effects of Special Relativity (my topic), which builds off General relativity.
The understanding of Space Time is first needed in order to understand General Relativity. Light is a constant in speed; therefore a long distance between two points will be influenced by the perception of time between each individual point. This perception of time for each individual is known as a person’s inertial reference frame and the effect is called the time dilation. To give a general understanding of time dilation, “[It] occurs in a system in motion relative to an outside observer and that becomes apparent especially as the speed of the system approaches that of light” (Webster).
To give a better explanation of scientific concepts, such as time dilation and inertial reference frames, illustrations and diagrams are constantly used. Stephan Hawking’s, A Brief History of Time, uses both diagrams and illustrations hand-in-hand to make multiple points. His figure 2.2, along with its illustration of information being sent to two starts does a great job representing the idea of both space time and individual’s reference frames. Depending on all the multiple absolute position or perspective, Hawking’s specific illustration emphasis the relationship of time and reference frame. These relationships and their effects are what we call the General Relativity Theory.
2. Understanding how Einstein changed our perception of our universe as a whole is another thing that needs to be noted before jumping into my argument. This is important to my topic because it changes the path of time and space, which resulted in creating Special Relativity Theory and its product, the Twin Paradox Theory.
The properties in the Theory of General Relativity at the time held two predictions. The first prediction was that light should be bent by gravitational fields, which has since, been proven to be correct multiple times. Einstein realized with the help of his famous equation, E=MC^2, that this distribution of mass and energy changed the actually appearance of how light traveled. Light was considered a constant for absolute time but because energy, mass, and light were intermittently the same thing, the perception of space time changed. Space now is now curved or “warped”, due to light’s effects of following a geodesic line which has been proved by the first prediction)and altering the appearance of light traveling on a flat plane. Therefore, because of this, General relativity also had to predict that time itself would appear to be slower near a massive object due to the bend. “This however was incorrect when one applied Newton’s laws of motion. When the laws of motion had to be applied to objects that move at or near the speed of light, special relativity had to be adopted. Special Relativity states that; time is measured according to the relative velocity of the reference frame it is measured in. Special relativity therefore, gets rid of the idea of absolute position and time in space”(Hawking). Because of this, the paradox can be found when the traveler has changed acceleration to turn around. Because the traveler has to drop out of “warp speed” there is a fragmentation shift in the observers reference frame.
3. The technological advances in our society are another important factor for my topic. After reading, Physics of the impossible by Michio Kaku, the part about my topic’s relevancy has been answered. Surprisingly, the Twin Paradox is more relevant than one might think. This book is about Kaku explaining the credibility of futuristic inventions by applying the laws of physics and then categorizing them into classes based on its possibility. In one chapter about space travel to other galaxies; he goes on about using Ramjet fusion engines (long lasting energy source) for such a long journey and illustrates to us with an example. In such an example, he goes on to states that, “After accelerating 1g . . . for twenty-tree years[,] it would reach the Andromeda galaxy” and “[in] theory, the spacecraft might be able to reach the limit of the visible universe within the lifetime of a crew member” (160). Most importantly, he emphasizes that, “[a]lthough billions of years might have passed on the Earth . . . since time slows down inside a rocket, according to Einstein” (160). The reason why I find this most important is because it shows that the Twin Paradox might be more applicable to today than we would think since Kaku places space travel as a Class 1 Possibility.
Work Cited:
Hawking, Stephan. A Brief History of Time. New York: Bantam, 1988. Print.
Judit, X. Madarasz, Nemeti Isvan, and Szekely Gergely. “Twin Paradox and the Logical Foundation of Relativity Theory”. (2005): PhilSci. Web. 2 Apr. 2013
Kaku, Michio. Physics of the Impossible: A Scientific Exploration Into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel. New York: Doubleday, 2008. Print.
Keohane, Jonathan . United States. NASA. “The Twin Paradox in Special Relativity”. Washington D.C: High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center, Astrophysics Science Division. Web. <http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/971109a.html>.
Knierim, Thomas. "Thebigview.com." Space Time. (2011): n. page. Web. 2 Apr. 2013. <http://www.thebigview.com/spacetime/index.html>.
Mallinckrodt, Dr. John. "The so-called "Twin Paradox"."John Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics, Cal Poly Pomona. Cal Poly Pomona, 03 Mar 2008. Web. 2 Apr 2013.
<http://www.csupomona.edu/~ajm/materials/twinparadox.html>
Mallinckrodt, Dr. John. The so-called "Twin Paradox". 2008. Chart. California State University Cal Poly Pomona, California. Web. 2 Apr 2013. <http://www.csupomona.edu/~ajm/materials/twinparadox.html>
Percival, J.N. “A Very Doable Experiment for NASA to Look Inside the Twin Paradox.”, Physics Essay 19.1 (3-5). Phycology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Web. 2 April. 2013.>
Simonetti, Dr. John . "‘Please explain how the Twin Paradox works: Frequently Asked Questions About Special Relativity’”. Virginia Tech Department of Physics, 21 Oct 1997. Web. 2 Apr 2013. <http://www.phys.vt.edu/~jhs/faq/twins.html>.
Wolfe, Joe . "The twin paradox: Is the symmetry of time dilation paradoxical?." Einsteinlight. University of New South Wales, 17 Jun 2005. Web. 2 Apr 2013. <http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/einsteinlight/jw/module4_twin_paradox.htm>.
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