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I've been struggling with proposed answers to the twin paradox. I know that an object traveling at relativistic speed ages slower than a stationary object. This must be caused by some interaction with spacetime that leads to a slowing of time. But how does this work when we are looking at relative time dilation between two or more individuals.

Imagine a huge crowd of relativistic rockets moving inertially and crossing each other in all directions at different velocities. How can one pilot claim to be younger than another, while the other is younger than a third who is younger than the first?

Then it came to me that this all might just be the same as relativistic length contraction where it is only occurs while they are in motion, and all effects stop once they stop moving. Once they stop the only age effects are measured against an earth clock.

We know that for kinetic length contraction, the man on the train station platform will see the relativistic train length contracted while the main on the train will see the train station platform length contracted. But the instant the train stops moving, all measurements return to normal. Is it the same with the twin paradox? That any age difference as seen by one pilot over another disappears once the motion stops? And the only real aging is when measured against an earth clock?

foolishmuse
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  • Could you look at this question and answer: https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/506977/in-the-twin-paradox-does-the-returning-twin-also-come-back-permanently-length-co/506989#506989 If this does not help your understanding, perhaps you could update the question with a bit about what is missing from your perspective – Dale Aug 30 '23 at 18:49
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    @Dale yes I understand the metronome analogy. Thanks. – foolishmuse Aug 30 '23 at 21:40
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    The 1st paragraph completely misunderstands SR. "time dilation must have to do with an interaction with spacetime for the moving object". In SR: you cannot move wrt to spacetime (or space). No matter what, you are stationary in your inertial frame. Since everyone sees the same light wave moving at the same speed, you have to see moving frames' clocks slowed and lengths contracted. – JEB Aug 31 '23 at 00:33
  • @JEB as you know from my paper "Dilating Loop Relativity", I am looking beyond that. I want to know how the warping of spacetime works and why it causes time dilation. Likewise with kinetic time dilation. A clock on earth runs slower than a clock in space, so there must be some interaction between the mechanism inside the clock and the surrounding warped spacetime. And I'm assuming that it would be a similar interaction in kinetic time dilation. – foolishmuse Sep 01 '23 at 18:18
  • Just look at the Schwarzschild metric and evaluate the geodesic equation with v<<c, r<<R_s, and you get Newtons Law of Gravity. – JEB Sep 01 '23 at 19:19

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