Problems with Einstein's Theory of Contractions

摘要

The theory of contractions was first proposed by H. Lorentz and G. Fitzgerald in order to explain the null results of the Michelson-Morley (MM) experiment from the ether point of view. Albert Einstein incorporated this theory into his theory of relativity, where the contractions are due to motion, not the ether. This paper elaborates upon many problems with the theory of contractions, which Einstein considered to exist as a point of view of an observer. However, contractions have to be real in order to explain the null result of the MM ex- periment.