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Understanding Special Relativity Concepts

Special relativity is a theory of spacetime introduced by Einstein in 1905. It is based on two postulates: 1) the laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames of reference, and 2) the speed of light in a vacuum is constant regardless of the motion of the light source. Some key consequences are that simultaneity is relative, moving clocks tick slower, objects contract in the direction of motion, and mass and energy are equivalent and transmutable. Special relativity replaced Galilean transformations with Lorentz transformations.

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Manish Gulati
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72 views10 pages

Understanding Special Relativity Concepts

Special relativity is a theory of spacetime introduced by Einstein in 1905. It is based on two postulates: 1) the laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames of reference, and 2) the speed of light in a vacuum is constant regardless of the motion of the light source. Some key consequences are that simultaneity is relative, moving clocks tick slower, objects contract in the direction of motion, and mass and energy are equivalent and transmutable. Special relativity replaced Galilean transformations with Lorentz transformations.

Uploaded by

Manish Gulati
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Special

relativity
Main article: Special
relativity
Special relativity is a
theory of the
structure
of spacetime. It was
introduced in
Einstein's 1905
paper "On the
Electrodynamics of
Moving Bodies" (for
the contributions of
many other
physicists
see History of
special relativity).
Special relativity is
based on two
postulates which are
contradictory
in classical
mechanics:
1. The laws
of physics are the
same for all
observers in
any inertial frame
of
reference relative
to one another
(principle of
relativity).
2. The speed of
light in a vacuum is
the same for all
observers,
regardless of their
relative motion or
of the motion of
the light source.
The resultant theory
copes with
experiment better
than classical
mechanics. For
instance, postulate 2
explains the results
of the Michelson–
Morley experiment.
Moreover, the theory
has many surprising
and counterintuitive
consequences.
Some of these are:
 Relativity of
simultaneity: Two
events,
simultaneous for
one observer, may
not be simultaneous
for another
observer if the
observers are in
relative motion.
 Time dilation:
Moving clocks are
measured to tick
more slowly than an
observer's
"stationary" clock.
 Length contraction:
Objects are
measured to be
shortened in the
direction that they
are moving with
respect to the
observer.
 Maximum speed is
finite: No physical
object, message or
field line can travel
faster than the
speed of light in a
vacuum.
o The effect of
gravity can only
travel through
space at the speed
of light, not faster
or instantaneously.
Mass–energy
equivalence: E = m
c , energy and mass
2

are equivalent and


transmutable.
Relativistic mass,
idea used by some
researchers. [9]

The defining feature


of special relativity is
the replacement of
the Galilean
transformations of
classical mechanics
by the Lorentz
transformations.
(See Maxwell's
equations of electro
magnetism.)

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