• You had heard of E = m(c squared). Had you heard of the gamma factor? Which if either is more mind-boggling?
• What in your everyday life has a sinificant velocity relative to the speed of light, and hence a gamma factor distinguishable from 1?
• What happens at an accelerator? Why are they built? What branch of physics needs accelerators?
• If you flew from Chicago to Los Angeles on a fairly fast jet, at about 670 miles per hour, and it took about three hours, your clock would be running slower than one on the ground in Chicago. About how much time do you think it would lose during that trip?
• What is a cosmic ray?
• What is relative in special relativity? Name as many things as you can.
• What is invariant in special relativity? Name as many things as you can.

Revised October 23, 1997.