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The Lorentz Transformation Group of the Special Theory of Relativity without Einstein's Isotropy Convention

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Abraham Ungar
Abraham Ungar*
Affiliation:
Department of Mathematics, North Dakota State University
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Abstract

Inertial frames and Lorentz transformations have a preferred status in the special theory of relativity (STR). Lorentz transformations, in turn, embody Einstein's convention that the velocity of light is isotropic, a convention that is necessary for the establishment of a standard signal synchrony. If the preferred status of Lorentz transformations in STR is not due to some particular bias introduced by a convention on signal synchronism, but to the fact that the Lorentz transformation group is the symmetry group of the theory, then the signal synchronism is not a matter of convention but rather a matter of fact. In order to explore the conventionalist thesis, that within the frame of STR isotropy in the velocity of light and, hence, signal synchronism is a matter of convention, we need a generalized Lorentz transformation group that does not embody Einstein's isotropy convention, and upon which STR can be based. We present here a new approach to the resulting search for a generalized STR, which is well suited for establishing some well-known results of Winnie as well as some new results.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 53 , Issue 3 , September 1986 , pp. 395 - 402
Copyright
Copyright © The Philosophy of Science Association 1986

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