On Andr\'eka's Conjecture that special relativity is the only possible conceptual reduct of classical kinematics

TL;DR

This paper proves mathematically that special relativity is the only conceptual extension of classical kinematics that resolves conflicts with experimental results, emphasizing its unique role in physics history.

Contribution

It establishes a formal proof showing no intermediate models exist between classical kinematics and special relativity, confirming Andre9ka's conjecture.

Findings

No intermediate spacetime models exist between classical kinematics and special relativity.

Special relativity is uniquely positioned as the conceptual extension to resolve experimental conflicts.

The result has implications for understanding the historical development of relativity theory.

Abstract

In this paper, we prove a pure mathematical result which has important implications for the history and philosophy of classical physics and the conceptual origins of relativity theory. In formal terms, we show that, up to definitional equivalence, there is no intermediate model of spacetime lying strictly between special relativity and late classical kinematics. Informally, this means that there was essentially no other option but to switch to special relativity to resolve the conflict between late classical kinematics and the null result of the Michelson--Morley experiment.