Title:
Indefinite Quadratic Forms and the Invariance of the Interval in Special Relativity
Indefinite Quadratic Forms and the Invariance of the Interval in Special Relativity
| dc.contributor.author | Elton, John H. | |
| dc.contributor.corporatename | Georgia Institute of Technology. School of Mathematics | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2009-12-04T19:14:26Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2009-12-04T19:14:26Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2009 | |
| dc.description | This article has been accepted for publication in American Mathematical Monthly. | en |
| dc.description.abstract | In this note, a simple theorem on proportionality of indefinite real quadratic forms is proved, and is used to clarify the proof of the invariance of the interval in special relativity from Einstein's postulate on the universality of the speed of light; students are often rightfully confused by the incomplete or incorrect proofs given in many texts. The result is illuminated and generalized using Hilbert's Nullstellensatz, allowing one form to be a homogeneous polynomial which is not necessarily quadratic. Also a condition for simultaneous diagonalizability of semi-definite real quadratic forms is given. | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1853/31271 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | en |
| dc.publisher | Georgia Institute of Technology | en |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | SOM-0409-001R | en |
| dc.subject | Quadratic forms | en |
| dc.subject | Indefinite quadratic forms | en |
| dc.subject | Intervals | en |
| dc.title | Indefinite Quadratic Forms and the Invariance of the Interval in Special Relativity | en |
| dc.type | Text | |
| dc.type.genre | Pre-print | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| local.contributor.corporatename | College of Sciences | |
| local.contributor.corporatename | School of Mathematics | |
| relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication | 85042be6-2d68-4e07-b384-e1f908fae48a | |
| relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication | 84e5d930-8c17-4e24-96cc-63f5ab63da69 |