Special relativity

Albert Einstein around 1905, the year his "Annus Mirabilis papers" were published. These included Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper, the paper founding special relativity.

In physics, the special theory of relativity, or special relativity for short, is a scientific theory of the relationship between space and time. In Albert Einstein's 1905 treatment, the theory is presented as being based on just two postulates:[p 1][1][2]

  1. The laws of physics are invariant (identical) in all inertial frames of reference (that is, frames of reference with no acceleration).
  2. The speed of light in vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of the motion of light source or observer.

The first postulate was first formulated by Galileo Galilei (see Galilean invariance).


Cite error: There are <ref group=p> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=p}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Griffiths, David J. (2013). "Electrodynamics and Relativity". Introduction to Electrodynamics (4th ed.). Pearson. Chapter 12. ISBN 978-0-321-85656-2.
  2. ^ Jackson, John D. (1999). "Special Theory of Relativity". Classical Electrodynamics (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Chapter 11. ISBN 0-471-30932-X.

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