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Mathematical physics

Mathematical physics

Confused by the twin paradox? Maybe philosophy can help

21 Oct 2024 Robert P Crease

Albert Einstein’s “twin paradox” is a famous counterintuitive implication of the special theory of relativity, but it also reveals deep links between physics and philosophy, as Robert P Crease explains

Abstract concept of time
Duration versus time When one twin goes on a round trip on a fast rocket, they return home younger than their stay-at-home sibling. (Courtesy: Shutterstock/klee048)
Once upon a time, a man took a fast rocket to a faraway planet. He soon missed his home world and to

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Robert P Crease is a professor in the Department of Philosophy, Stony Brook University, US and writes the monthly Critical Point column for Physics World, robertpcrease.com, e-mail robert.crease@stonybrook.edu. His latest book is The Leak: Politics, Activists, and Loss of Trust at Brookhaven National Laboratory
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