Space Time Measurements in Special Relativity

The conventional discussion of apparent distortions of space and time in Special Relativity (the Lorentz-Fitzgerald Contraction and Time Dilatation) is extended by considering observations of : (i) moving objects of limited lifetime in their own rest frame (‘transient luminous objects’) and (ii) a moving extended array of synchronised ‘equivalent clocks’ in a common inertial frame. Application of the Lorentz Transformation to (i) shows that such objects, viewed with coarse time resolution, appear to be longer in the direction of the relative velocity ~v by a factor 1 / p 1 − ( v/c ) 2 (Space Dilatation) and to (ii) that the moving equivalent clock that appears at any fixed position in the rest frame of an inertial observer appears to be running faster than a similar clock at rest by the factor 1 / p 1 − ( v/c ) 2 (Time Con-traction). The actual appearance of moving objects and clocks, taking into account light propagation time delays, as well as the effect of the Lorentz Transformation, is also discussed.