Teaching Physics after a Century of Relativity
Dr. William E. Baylis
Department of Physics
University of Windsor
Abstract
Special relativity has been with us for almost 100 years. It is a fundamental symmetry of electromagnetic
phenomena and much of modern physics. It changes the way we approach many problems, often simplifying
the computations, and it is frequently important even at low ("nonrelativistic") velocities. Yet, it is still commonly
taught as a complicating correction to Newtonian mechanics. Is it not time to integrate relativity more tightly into
the early physics curriculum? The talk shows how this can be accomplished with a simple algebraic extension of
vector formalism.
