Spatial geometry of the rotating disk and its non-rotating counterpart
Abstract
A general relativistic description of a disk rotating at constant angular velocity is given. It is argued that describing this situation using general relativity poses fewer conceptual problems than using special relativity. For observers on the disk, the geometry of their proper space is hyperbolic. This has interesting consequences concerning their interpretation of the geometry of a non-rotating disk with the same radius. The influence of clock synchronization on spatial measurements is discussed.
- Publication:
-
American Journal of Physics
- Pub Date:
- September 2012
- DOI:
- 10.1119/1.4730925
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1109.2488
- Bibcode:
- 2012AmJPh..80..772K
- Keywords:
-
- angular velocity;
- general relativity;
- physics education;
- relativistic mechanics;
- spatial variables measurement;
- special relativity;
- 03.30.+p;
- 04.00.00;
- Special relativity;
- General relativity and gravitation;
- Physics - Popular Physics;
- General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology;
- Physics - Physics Education
- E-Print:
- 10 pages, 3 figures, this is the version accepted by American Journal of Physics