Why Relativity?

For centuries Galileo had it right about relative velocity. Given reference frame A and reference frame B where frame A is at rest and frame B is moving at velocity v relative to frame A; Galileo posited that the distance between the frames at any time t is given by xB = xA + vt, with t measured to have the same value in both frames.

The velocity of an object can be found using the equation. v = ∆x / ∆t. We are going to test to see if Galileo got it right for cosmic ray muons. We will develop a predicted result using Galilean Relativity and compare that to an experimental result determined using muon detection rates at various elevations. By comparing these classical predictions to real-world data, they reveal discrepancies that introduce the core concepts of special relativity, including time dilation and length contraction.