Herbert Dingle
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Herbert Dingle (1890 – 1978) was an English astrophysicist. He claimed to have disproven the theory of special relativity formulated by Albert Einstein. However, his disproof was refuted, notably by astrophysicist Sir H. William McCrea during the 1950s.
Dingle's disproof was based on the twin paradox, claiming that it was in fact a contradiction. He argued that the theory must be false since it demands that each of two clocks works faster than the other.
Most modern astrophysicists hold that in fact it was Dingle's reasoning that was faulty; and that his disproof rested on a misunderstanding of the mathematics of special relativity.
External links and references
- Dingle's book "Science at the Crossroads": http://www.nationalism.org/russamos/dingle/Introduction.html
- A mathematical explanation of the twin "paradox" and Dingle's misconception thereof can be found at: http://www.mathpages.com/rr/s4-07/4-07.htm