Inertial frames of reference, space and time measurements, and physical principles of special relativity revisited

TL;DR

This paper critically examines the foundations of special relativity, proposing operational criteria for inertial frames, refining Einstein's postulates, and reconstructing Minkowski space to explore potential Lorentz violations.

Contribution

It introduces a new operational criterion for inertial frames, refines the understanding of Einstein's postulates, and reconstructs Minkowski space geometry for analyzing Lorentz symmetry.

Findings

Operational criterion for inertial frames established

Refined treatment of Einstein's postulates provided

Reconstruction of Minkowski space geometry proposed

Abstract

We give a critical analysis of the conceptual foundations of special relativity. We formulate a simple operational criterion for distinguishing between noninertial and inertial frames which is introduced prior to geometry. We associate the concept of maximal velocity with the existence of an upper bound for a set of rates of movers which travel in the same direction. We define the standard scale for reading the time flow. We refine the treatment of both Einstein's postulates, the principle of relativity and constancy of the velocity of light. The proposed ``reconstruction'' of the geometry of Minkowski space will hopefully be useful for the ongoing examination of possible Lorentz violations.