Relativity Derived Without Calculus -- Possibly Centuries Ago

Relativity Derived Without Calculus -- Possibly Centuries Ago

Einsteinian relativity seemed to be a modern breakthrough: he had derived his theories from ideas and mathematics that were new at the time. The Lorentz transformations had just been discovered in 1895, and he derived a new velocity addition law using calculus (both of these concepts describe how observers in different reference frames perceive each other). Further, Einstein based his theories on the assumption that the speed of light, c, is constant, and used gedanken (“thought”) experiments involving light rays to reach his conclusions.

Now Joel Gannett, a Senior Scientist in the Applied Research Area of Telcordia Technologies in Red Bank, New Jersey, has found that Einstein didn’t have to do the work the hard way. A researcher in optical networking technologies, Gannett has shown that the Lorentz transformations and velocity addition law can be derived without assuming the constancy of the speed of light, without thought experiments, and without calculus. In this case, Einsteinian relativity could have been discovered several centuries before Einstein.

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