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In classical physics and special relativity, an inertial frame of reference (also called an inertial space or a Galilean reference frame) is a frame of reference in which objects exhibit inertia: they remain at rest or in uniform motion relative to the frame until acted upon by external forces. In such a frame, the laws of nature can be ...
Special relativity predicts that an observer in an inertial reference frame does not see objects he would describe as moving faster than the speed of light. However, in the non-inertial reference frame of Earth, treating a spot on the Earth as a fixed point, the stars are observed to move in the sky, circling once about the Earth per day. Since ...
Although all inertial frames are equivalent under classical mechanics and special relativity, the set of all inertial frames is privileged over non-inertial frames in these theories. [ 1 ] : 10 Inertial frames are privileged because they do not have physics whose causes are outside of the system, while non-inertial frames do.
In special relativity, an observer is a frame of reference from which a set of objects or events are being measured. Usually this is an inertial reference frame or "inertial observer". Less often an observer may be an arbitrary non-inertial reference frame such as a Rindler frame which may be called an "accelerating observer".
Event B is simultaneous with A in the green reference frame, but it occurred before in the blue frame, and will occur later in the red frame. Events A, B, and C occur in different order depending on the motion of the observer. The white line represents a plane of simultaneity being moved from the past to the future.
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 and astronomy, a frame of reference (or reference frame) is an abstract coordinate system, whose origin, orientation, and scale have been specified in physical space. It is based on a set of reference points , defined as geometric points whose position is identified both mathematically (with numerical coordinate values) and ...
In any given inertial frame, the velocity of light c is the same whether the light be emitted by a body at rest or by a body in uniform motion. [Emphasis added by editor] [ 12 ] : 140–141 Einstein's wording of the first postulate was one with which nearly all theorists of his day could agree.