Abstract

Relativity claims that the simultaneity between two (or more) observers, each traveling in different Inertial Reference Frames (IRFs) is such that for two spaceships moving through space at a high-speed relative to one another “inside the frame of reference of Ship A, everything is moving normally, but everything over on Ship B appears to be moving slower (and vice versa)”. However, as I will explain, this interpretation leads to an inconsistency which cannot be true. I point out the error being made in the interpretation of Minkowski diagrams that leads to this inconsistency, and how the diagram should be interpreted to correct this error. This paper demonstrates that a moving object’s rate of time is determined based on its speed relative to a stationary reference frame and that the light signals propagating between objects (from which observers can determine the other object’s rate of time) move at the speed of light c with respect to this stationary frame. If two objects are moving at the same speed through the stationary frame (but in different directions to each other) then they will have the same degree of time dilation and will thus have the same rate of time, despite the relative motion that exists between them.

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