Ro a ion Is No Absolu e
Max Ka son
No embe 21, 2025
Abs ac
S anda d physics asse s ha while linea eloci y is ela i e, o a ion is absolu e because i
is locally measu able ia he Sagnac and Co iolis e ec s. This pape demons a es ha hese
phenomena a e no indica o s o mo ion, bu seman ic labels ha compa men alize geome y
in o New onian objec s and ela i is ic e ec s.
Absolu e Ro a ion P i ileges a F ame
The claim ha o a ion is absolu e [1] p esumes ha a single geome ic objec (e.g. “ he disk”)
exis s independen ly o he obse e , and ha obse e s me ely occupy di e en s a es o mo ion
wi h espec o i . Rela i i y o bids his.
A “disk” de ined in an ine ial ame (a closed Euclidean ci cle wi h iso opic wo-way ligh
speed) ans o ms ope a ionally o an asymme ic helical geome y o a o a ing obse e . The
usual asse ion ha he disk “is” Euclidean bu “appea s” dis o ed o he ide is ci cula easoning
ha de ines he ine ial ame as physically undamen al.
The e Is No De aul Geome y
The s anda d a gumen s o absolu e o a ion—–Co iolis de lec ion and he Sagnac e ec –—implici ly
en o ce a de aul es geome y, and subsequen ly label obse ed di e ences as he mo ion o ha
”objec ” h ough space. While con enien , his con en ion a bi a ily sepa a es geome y in o a
o eg ound objec and an emp y backg ound, inco ec ly de ining eali y wi h a pa ially New onian
lens.
Conclusion
Con a y o ex book in ui ion, an obse e in a o a ing box canno de e mine hei ”mo ion”
unless hey also a e independen ly supplied wi h a es de ini ion o ha ”box.” The claim ha
o a ion is locally measu able is hus ci cula , as he wo d ”box” compa men alizes he geome y
in o an objec and a backg ound, which hen o ces he obse e o conclude he box is o a ing.
Wi hou ha ex e nal de ini ion, no expe imen can e eal bo h he ”objec ” and i s ”mo ion.”
Ro a ion gains “absolu e” s a us only by en o cing one ame’s opology ( = ′, = ′) on all
obse e s, g an ing hem he non-ope a ional abili y o measu e and compa e wo geome ies a
once.
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AI Disclosu e
The au ho used AI language models o assis wi h d a ing, de i a ions, and algeb aic checks.
Re e ences
[1] C. W. Misne , K. S. Tho ne, and J. A. Wheele , G a i a ion (W. H. F eeman, 1973), §21.12.
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