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Spatial Geometry and Special Relativity: a comparative approach

Geometria Espacial e Relatividade Especial: uma abordagem comparativa

In this work, it is shown the interplay of relative and absolute entities, which are present in both spatial geometry and special relativity. In order to strengthen the understanding of special relativity, we discuss firstly an instance of geometry and the existence of both frame-dependent and frame-independent entities. We depart from a subject well known by students, which is the three-dimensional geometric space in order to compare, afterwards, with the treatment of four-dimensional space in the special relativity. The differences and similarities between these two subjects are also presented in a explicit way, with the goal of improving the comprehension of newcomers on the theory of relativity.

Keywords
geometry; special relativity; four-dimensional space; scalar product; relativistic invariant


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