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special relativity

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Topic

special relativity

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Overview

In physics, the special theory of relativity, or simply special relativity, is a scientific theory of the relationship between space and time. In Albert Einstein's 1905 paper, "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies", the theory is presented as being based on just two postulates:The laws of physics are invariant (identical) in all inertial frames of reference. This is known as the principle of relativity. The speed of light in vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of the motion of light source or observer. This is known as the principle of light constancy, or the principle of light speed invariance.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“The views of space and time which I wish to lay before you have sprung from the soil of experimental physics, and therein lies their strength. They are radical. Henceforth, space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away into mere shadows, and only a kind of union of the two will preserve an independent reality.”
— Hermann Minkowski, Address to the 80th Assembly of German Natural Scientists and Physicians, (Sep 21, 1908)
“The whole world appears resolved into such world-lines. And I should like to say beforehand that, according to my opinion, it would be possible for the physical laws to find their fullest expression as correlations of these world-lines.”
— Hermann Minkowski, Space and Time (1909), Tr. Ganesh Prasad in: Bulletin of the Calcutta
“The word postulate of relativity... appears to me very stale... I should rather like to give this statement the name Postulate of the absolute world (or briefly, world-postulate).”
— Hermann Minkowski, Space and Time (1909), Tr. Ganesh Prasad in: Bulletin of the Calcutta

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

On IJR

No public IJR answers mention special relativity yet. As people ask about it and share their answers, they'll appear here.

Overview

In physics, the special theory of relativity, or simply special relativity, is a scientific theory of the relationship between space and time. In Albert Einstein's 1905 paper, "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies", the theory is presented as being based on just two postulates:The laws of physics are invariant (identical) in all inertial frames of reference. This is known as the principle of relativity. The speed of light in vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of the motion of light source or observer. This is known as the principle of light constancy, or the principle of light speed invariance.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“The views of space and time which I wish to lay before you have sprung from the soil of experimental physics, and therein lies their strength. They are radical. Henceforth, space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away into mere shadows, and only a kind of union of the two will preserve an independent reality.”
— Hermann Minkowski, Address to the 80th Assembly of German Natural Scientists and Physicians, (Sep 21, 1908)
“The whole world appears resolved into such world-lines. And I should like to say beforehand that, according to my opinion, it would be possible for the physical laws to find their fullest expression as correlations of these world-lines.”
— Hermann Minkowski, Space and Time (1909), Tr. Ganesh Prasad in: Bulletin of the Calcutta
“The word postulate of relativity... appears to me very stale... I should rather like to give this statement the name Postulate of the absolute world (or briefly, world-postulate).”
— Hermann Minkowski, Space and Time (1909), Tr. Ganesh Prasad in: Bulletin of the Calcutta

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.