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Some Relativistic and Higher Order Supertasks

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2022

Jon Pérez Laraudogoitia
Jon Pérez Laraudogoitia*
Affiliation:
Department of Logic and Philosophy of Science, University of the Basque Country
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Abstract

The first aim of this paper is to introduce a new way of looking at supertasks in the light of special relativity which makes use of the elementary dynamics of relativistic point particles subjected to elastic binary collisions and constrained to move unidimensionally. In addition, this will enable us to draw new physical consequences from the possibility of supertasks whose ordinal type is higher than the usual ω or ω* considered so far in the literature. Thus, the paper shows how an entire collection of infinitely many particles may place itself spontaneously in motion (mechanical self-acceleration) or even reach the speed of light in a way compatible with special relativity. Interesting implications for classical mechanics are also derived, particularly the possibility of a system of particles disappearing spontaneously in spatial infinity even under the condition of the non-existence of non-collision singularities.

Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 65 , Issue 3 , September 1998 , pp. 502 - 517
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 1998

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Footnotes

†

Send requests for reprints to the author, Departamento de Lògica y Filosofia de la Ciencia, Facultad de Filología y Geografia e Historia, Universidad del País Vasco, Paseo de la Universidad, 5, Apartado Postai 2111, 01006 Vitoria-Gasteiz, ESPAÑA.

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