Relativity in Rotating Frames -

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Résumé :
Even if the subject is a long-standing one, this is the first monograph on this field. On the one hand, this book is intended to give a rather wide review on this field, both in a historical and pedagogical perspective; on the other hand, it aims at critically re-examining and discussing the most controversial issues. For instance, according to some authors the celebrated Sagnac effect is a disproval of the theory of relativity applied to rotating frames; according to others, it is an astonishing experimental evidence of the relativistic theory. In order to give the reader a deeper insight into this research field, the contributing authors discuss their opinions on the main subjects in an enthralling virtual round table: in this way, the reader can get a direct comparison of the various viewpoints on the most controversial and interesting topics. This is particularly expedient, since the differences in the various approaches are often based upon subtleties that can be understood only by a direct comparison of the underlying hypotheses.

Sommaire:
I Historical Papers.- 1 Uniform Rotation of Rigid Bodies and the Theory of Relativity.- 2 The existence of the luminiferous ether demonstrated by means of the effect of a relative ether wind in an uniformly rotating interferometer.- II Papers.- 1 The Sagnac Effect in the Global Positioning System.- 2 Space, Time and Coordinates in a Rotating World.- 3 The Hypothesis of Locality and its Limitations.- 4 Sagnac effect: end of the mystery.- 5 Synchronization and desynchronization on rotating platforms.- 6 Toward a Consistent Theory of Relativistic Rotation.- 7 Elementary Considerations of the Time and Geometry of Rotating Reference Frames.- 8 Local and Global Anisotropy in the Speed of Light.- 9 Isotropy of the velocity of light and the Sagnac effect.- 10 The relativistic Sagnac effect: two derivations.- 11 Inertial forces: the special relativistic assessment.- 12 Eppur, si muove!.- 13 Does anything happen on a rotating disk?.- 14 Proper co-ordinates of non-inertial observers and rotation.- 15 Space geometry in rotating reference frames: A historical appraisal.- 16 Quantum Physics in Inertial and Gravitational Fields.- 17 Quantum Mechanics in a Rotating Frame.- 18 On rotating spacetimes.- III Round Table.- I Dialogue on the velocity of light in a rotating frame.- II Dialogue on synchronization and Sagnac effect.- III Dialogue on the measurement of lengths in a rotating frame.- IV Dialogue on the Brillet-Hall experiment.- V Dialogue on quantum effects in rotating systems.- VI Dialogue on non uniform motions and other details about Klauber's and Selleri's challenges.