What do light clocks say to us regarding the so-called clock hypothesis?

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Published 06-11-2018
Mario Bacelar Valente

Abstract

The clock hypothesis is taken to be an assumption independent of special relativity necessary to describe accelerated clocks. This enables to equate the time read off by a clock to the proper time. Here, it is considered a physical system–the light clock–proposed by Marzke and Wheeler. Recently, Fletcher proved a theorem that shows that a sufficiently small light clock has a time reading that approximates to an arbitrary degree the proper time. The clock hypothesis is not necessary to arrive at this result. Here, one explores the consequences of this regarding the status of the clock hypothesis.


How to Cite

Bacelar Valente, M. (2018). What do light clocks say to us regarding the so-called clock hypothesis?. THEORIA. An International Journal for Theory, History and Foundations of Science, 33(3), 435–446. https://doi.org/10.1387/theoria.18143
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Keywords

light clock, proper time, clock hypothesis, relativity

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