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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 ...
Lorentz factor. where and v is the relative velocity between two inertial frames. For two frames at rest, γ = 1, and increases with relative velocity between the two inertial frames. As the relative velocity approaches the speed of light, γ → ∞. Time dilation (different times t and t' at the same position x in same inertial frame)
As formulated by Albert Einstein in 1905, the theory of special relativity was based on two main postulates: The principle of relativity: The form of a physical law is the same in any inertial frame (a frame of reference that is not accelerating in any direction). The speed of light is constant: In all inertial frames, the speed of light c is ...
Definition of the Lorentz factor γ. The Lorentz factor or Lorentz term (also known as the gamma factor[1]) is a quantity expressing how much the measurements of time, length, and other physical properties change for an object while it moves. The expression appears in several equations in special relativity, and it arises in derivations of the ...
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 ...
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 motion of the emitting body.
In physics, spacetime, also called the space-time continuum, is a mathematical model that fuses the three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional continuum. Spacetime diagrams are useful in visualizing and understanding relativistic effects, such as how different observers perceive where and when events ...
Hermann Minkowski (1864–1909) found that the theory of special relativity could be best understood as a four-dimensional space, since known as the Minkowski spacetime.. In physics, Minkowski space (or Minkowski spacetime) (/ m ɪ ŋ ˈ k ɔː f s k i,-ˈ k ɒ f-/ [1]) is the main mathematical description of spacetime in the absence of gravitation.