In general, EuerkAlert has been a useful source for drawing my attention to interesting things that I might not otherwise notice. Every now and then, though, there are press releases that just make me faintly embarrassed for everyone involved.
Such as yesterday’s announcement from LSU:
Subhash Kak, Delaune Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at LSU, recently resolved the twin paradox, known as one of the most enduring puzzles of modern-day physics.
[…]The fact that time slows down on moving objects has been documented and verified over the years through repeated experimentation. But, in the previous scenario, the paradox is that the earthbound twin is the one who would be considered to be in motion – in relation to the sibling – and therefore should be the one aging more slowly. Einstein and other scientists have attempted to resolve this problem before, but none of the formulas they presented proved satisfactory.
Kak’s findings were published online in the International Journal of Theoretical Science, and will appear in the upcoming print version of the publication. “I solved the paradox by incorporating a new principle within the relativity framework that defines motion not in relation to individual objects, such as the two twins with respect to each other, but in relation to distant stars,” said Kak. Using probabilistic relationships, Kak’s solution assumes that the universe has the same general properties no matter where one might be within it.
Now, it’s possible that there’s something subtle here that I’m not aware of, but my impression was that the “twin paradox” is actually pretty well understood. It’s certainly discussed at some length in the sophomore-level modern physics book that’s stitting right in front of me, without the slightest hint that the normal resolution in unsatisfactory.
And, really, the rest of this is just dripping in kook signifiers. The author is an engineer, not a physicist, the solution involves “incorporating a new principle” into relativity, and appears to involve restoring an absolute frame of reference by measuring motion relative to distant stars– everything about it screams “kook!”
Which really makes me feel sorry for the LSU press officer who’s listed as a contact person at the bottom of the page…