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In reality the Lorentz transformation is a transformation from one
coordinate system to another.
--
Mikko
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Mikko, through the years I learned to respect most of your opinions.
But I completely disagree with your comment from above.
The only, legitimate and not properly recognized MATHEMATICAL
TRANSFORMATION from one coordinate system to another is the one
performed by the great Woldemar Voigt, in 1897, more than a decade
before Lorentz.
He expressed the theory in the purest mathematical sense, without
introducing mirrors, light beams and else. Lorentz himself just ADOPTED
many of the Voigt's finding in his 1904, and he didn't credit Voigt.
Only in a meeting, in 1911, Voigt (a decent soul) reminded Lorentz about
his plagiarism of LOCAL TIME and LAMBDA FACTOR, for which Lorentz
apologized, in the presence of witnesses.
Voigt didn't pursuit fame and glory. He was a pure breed scientist,
highly recognized by his peers until his death, circa 1920.
KEY PROPOSALS OF VOIGT'S 1897 PAPER:
- Which is the coordinate transformation that PRESERVES THE WAVE
EQUATION?
- Is it possible that such transformation be LINEAR?
- A point in space is described by its xyzt coordinates (he introduced
4D), plus its velocity vector.
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Translation:On_the_Principle_of_Doppler
Here are the linear transforms that he managed:
VOIGT'S LINEAR TRANSFORMS HYPOTHESIS:
x by ξ = xm₁ + yn₁ + zp₁ - αt
y by η = xm₂ + yn₂ + zp₂ - βt
z by ζ = xm₃ + yn₃ + zp₃ - γt
t by τ = t - (ax + by + cz)
Do you recognize the coordinate transform variables (ξ, η, ζ, τ )?
They were EXACTLY THE ONES that Einstein used in his 1905 paper.
Coincidence? NOT AT ALL.
The greek symbols are not even aligned in a translation table.
Einstein READ Voigt's paper!
Voigt obtained the famous GAMMA FACTOR, which is the heart of Lorentz
transforms. Plus, he obtained the local time factor -vx/c², which
Lorentz plagiarized.
BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT DISCOVERY OF VOIGT WAS:
τ = t, OR t = t'