Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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 paper, On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, the theory is presented as being based on just two postulates: [p 1][1][2] The laws of physics are invariant (identical) in ...
Postulates of special relativity. 1. First postulate (principle of relativity) The laws of physics take the same form in all inertial frames of reference. 2. Second postulate (invariance of c) As measured in any inertial frame of reference, light is always propagated in empty space with a definite velocity c that is independent of the state of ...
Einstein's thought experiments. A hallmark of Albert Einstein 's career was his use of visualized thought experiments (German: Gedankenexperiment[1]) as a fundamental tool for understanding physical issues and for elucidating his concepts to others. Einstein's thought experiments took diverse forms. In his youth, he mentally chased beams of light.
The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. [ 1 ] Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena in the absence of gravity. General relativity explains the law of gravitation and its ...
The third paper introduced Einstein's theory of special relativity, which used the universal constant speed of light to derive the Lorentz transformations. The fourth, a consequence of the theory of special relativity, developed the principle of mass–energy equivalence , expressed in the equation E = m c 2 {\displaystyle E=mc^{2}} and which ...
This equation holds for a body or system, such as one or more particles, with total energy E, invariant mass m 0, and momentum of magnitude p; the constant c is the speed of light. It assumes the special relativity case of flat spacetime [1] [2] [3] and that the particles are free.
The history of special relativity consists of many theoretical results and empirical findings obtained by Albert A. Michelson, Hendrik Lorentz, Henri Poincaré and others. It culminated in the theory of special relativity proposed by Albert Einstein and subsequent work of Max Planck, Hermann Minkowski and others.
Einstein based his theory of special relativity on two fundamental postulates. First, all physical laws are the same for all inertial frames of reference, regardless of their relative state of motion; and second, the speed of light in free space is the same in all inertial frames of reference, again, regardless of the relative velocity of each ...