The Myth of FitzGerald-Lorentz Length Contraction and the Reality of Einstein's Velocity Transformation.

The origin of the FitzGerald-Lorentz length contraction (FLC) hypothesis is discussed and attempts to verify it empirically are analyzed in detail. It is pointed out that the Lorentz transformation (LT) and the FLC not only rest on Einstein's two postulates of relativity, but also depend in a crucial way upon an additional assumption that was untested experimentally at the time. It is shown that replacing the latter assumption with another based on direct tests of the time-dilation phenomenon also explains the Michelson-Morley null result without invoking either the LT or the FLC but while still remaining consistent with the relativistic velocity transformation (VT). Moreover, an example is presented ("clock riddle") which demonstrates a lack of internal consistency in the LT formulation of relativity theory. Finally, it is shown that all confirmed experimental results that have hitherto been ascribed to the LT can be predicted equally well on the basis of an alternative Lorentz transformation (ALT) that avoids the above inconsistency. This discovery leads to a restatement of the relativity principle (RP) which not only recognizes that physical laws are the same in all inertial systems but also that the units in which they are expressed may differ in a systematic manner from one rest frame to another as a consequence of acceleration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]