Special Relativity
Special Relativity
For history and motivation, see History of special as spacetime. Events that occur at the same time for one
relativity. observer can occur at different times for another.
The theory is “special” in that it only applies in the special
In physics, special relativity (SR, also known as the spe- case where the curvature of spacetime due to gravity is
cial theory of relativity or STR) is the generally ac- negligible.[5][6] In order to include gravity, Einstein for-
cepted and experimentally well-confirmed physical the- mulated general relativity in 1915. Special relativity, con-
ory regarding the relationship between space and time. trary to some outdated descriptions, is capable of han-
In Albert Einstein's original pedagogical treatment, it is dling accelerated frames of reference.[7][8]
based on two postulates: As Galilean relativity is now considered an approxima-
tion of special relativity that is valid for low speeds, spe-
1. The laws of physics are invariant (i.e. identical) in cial relativity is considered an approximation of general
all inertial systems (non-accelerating frames of ref- relativity that is valid for weak gravitational fields, i.e. at
erence). a sufficiently small scale and in conditions of free fall.
Whereas general relativity incorporates noneuclidean ge-
2. The speed of light in a vacuum is the same for all ob- ometry in order to represent gravitational effects as the
servers, regardless of the motion of the light source. geometric curvature of spacetime, special relativity is re-
stricted to the flat spacetime known as Minkowski space.
It was originally proposed in 1905 by Albert Ein- A locally Lorentz-invariant frame that abides by special
stein in the paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving relativity can be defined at sufficiently small scales, even
Bodies".[1] The inconsistency of Newtonian mechanics in curved spacetime.
with Maxwell’s equations of electromagnetism and the
Galileo Galilei had already postulated that there is no ab-
lack of experimental confirmation for a hypothesized
solute and well-defined state of rest (no privileged ref-
luminiferous aether led to the development of special rel-
erence frames), a principle now called Galileo’s principle
ativity, which corrects mechanics to handle situations in-
of relativity. Einstein extended this principle so that it ac-
volving motions nearing the speed of light. As of today,
counted for the constant speed of light,[9] a phenomenon
special relativity is the most accurate model of motion at
that had been recently observed in the Michelson–Morley
any speed. Even so, the Newtonian mechanics model is
experiment. He also postulated that it holds for all the
still useful (due to its simplicity and high accuracy) as an
laws of physics, including both the laws of mechanics and
approximation at small velocities relative to the speed of
of electrodynamics.[10]
light.
Special relativity implies a wide range of consequences,
which have been experimentally verified,[2] including
length contraction, time dilation, relativistic mass, mass– 1 Postulates
energy equivalence, a universal speed limit and relativity
of simultaneity. It has replaced the conventional no- Einstein discerned two fundamental propositions that
tion of an absolute universal time with the notion of a seemed to be the most assured, regardless of the exact
time that is dependent on reference frame and spatial validity of the (then) known laws of either mechanics or
position. Rather than an invariant time interval be- electrodynamics. These propositions were the constancy
tween two events, there is an invariant spacetime inter- of the speed of light and the independence of physical
val. Combined with other laws of physics, the two postu- laws (especially the constancy of the speed of light) from
lates of special relativity predict the equivalence of mass the choice of inertial system. In his initial presentation
and energy, as expressed in the mass–energy equivalence of special relativity in 1905 he expressed these postulates
formula E = mc2 , where c is the speed of light in a as:[1]
vacuum.[3][4]
A defining feature of special relativity is the replacement • The Principle of Relativity – The laws by which the
of the Galilean transformations of Newtonian mechanics states of physical systems undergo change are not
with the Lorentz transformations. Time and space can- affected, whether these changes of state be referred
not be defined separately from each other. Rather space to the one or the other of two systems in uniform
and time are interwoven into a single continuum known translatory motion relative to each other.[1]
1
2 1 POSTULATES
2 Lack of an absolute reference perspective in space which is not undergoing any change
in motion (acceleration), from which a position can be
frame measured along 3 spatial axes. In addition, a reference
frame has the ability to determine measurements of the
The principle of relativity, which states that there is no time of events using a 'clock' (any reference device with
preferred inertial reference frame, dates back to Galileo, uniform periodicity).
and was incorporated into Newtonian physics. However,
in the late 19th century, the existence of electromagnetic An event is an occurrence that can be assigned a single
waves led physicists to suggest that the universe was filled unique time and location in space relative to a reference
with a substance that they called "aether", which would frame: it is a “point” in spacetime. Since the speed of
act as the medium through which these waves, or vibra- light is constant in relativity in each and every reference
tions travelled. The aether was thought to constitute an frame, pulses of light can be used to unambiguously mea-
absolute reference frame against which speeds could be sure distances and refer back the times that events oc-
measured, and could be considered fixed and motionless. curred to the clock, even though light takes time to reach
Aether supposedly possessed some wonderful proper- the clock after the event has transpired.
ties: it was sufficiently elastic to support electromagnetic For example, the explosion of a firecracker may be con-
waves, and those waves could interact with matter, yet it sidered to be an “event”. We can completely specify an
offered no resistance to bodies passing through it. The event by its four spacetime coordinates: The time of oc-
results of various experiments, including the Michelson– currence and its 3-dimensional spatial location define a
Morley experiment, led to the theory of special relativity, reference point. Let’s call this reference frame S.
by showing that there was no aether.[22] Einstein’s solu-
In relativity theory we often want to calculate the position
tion was to discard the notion of an aether and the abso-
of a point from a different reference point.
lute state of rest. In relativity, any reference frame mov-
ing with uniform motion will observe the same laws of Suppose we have a second reference frame S′, whose spa-
physics. In particular, the speed of light in vacuum is al- tial axes and clock exactly coincide with that of S at time
ways measured to be c, even when measured by multiple zero, but it is moving at a constant velocity v with respect
systems that are moving at different (but constant) veloc- to S along the x-axis.
ities. Since there is no absolute reference frame in relativity
theory, a concept of 'moving' doesn't strictly exist, as ev-
erything is always moving with respect to some other ref-
3 Reference frames, coordinates, erence frame. Instead, any two frames that move at the
same speed in the same direction are said to be comoving.
and the Lorentz transformation Therefore, S and S′ are not comoving.
Main article: Lorentz transformation Define the event to have spacetime coordinates (t,x,y,z) in
Reference frames play a crucial role in relativity theory. system S and (t′,x′,y′,z′) in S′. Then the Lorentz transfor-
mation specifies that these coordinates are related in the
following way:
t′ = γ (t − vx/c2 )
x′ = γ (x − vt)
y′ = y
z ′ = z,
where
1
γ=√
The primed system is in motion relative to the unprimed system 1− v2
c2
with constant velocity v only along the x-axis, from the perspec-
tive of an observer stationary in the unprimed system. By the is the Lorentz factor and c is the speed of light in vacuum,
principle of relativity, an observer stationary in the primed sys- and the velocity v of S′ is parallel to the x-axis. The y and
tem will view a likewise construction except that the velocity they z coordinates are unaffected; only the x and t coordinates
record will be −v. The changing of the speed of propagation of are transformed. These Lorentz transformations form a
interaction from infinite in non-relativistic mechanics to a finite
one-parameter group of linear mappings, that parameter
value will require a modification of the transformation equations
mapping events in one frame to another.
being called rapidity.
There is nothing special about the x-axis, the transfor-
The term reference frame as used here is an observational mation can apply to the y or z axes, or indeed in any di-
4 4 CONSEQUENCES DERIVED FROM THE LORENTZ TRANSFORMATION
we get
∆x′ = γ (
(∆x − v ∆t) )
, (∆x′ + v ∆t′ ) )
∆x = γ ( , Event B is simultaneous with A in the green reference frame, but
′ it occurs before A in the blue frame, and occurs after A in the red
v ∆x v ∆x
∆t′ = γ ∆t − 2 , ∆t = γ ∆t′ + .frame.
c c2
The consequences of special relativity can be derived The time lapse between two events is not invariant from
from the Lorentz transformation equations.[23] These one observer to another, but is dependent on the relative
transformations, and hence special relativity, lead to dif- speeds of the observers’ reference frames (e.g., the twin
ferent physical predictions than those of Newtonian me- paradox which concerns a twin who flies off in a spaceship
chanics when relative velocities become comparable to traveling near the speed of light and returns to discover
the speed of light. The speed of light is so much larger that his or her twin sibling has aged much more).
than anything humans encounter that some of the effects
predicted by relativity are initially counterintuitive. Suppose a clock is at rest in the unprimed system S. The
location of the clock on two different ticks is then charac-
terized by Δx = 0. To find the relation between the times
4.1 Relativity of simultaneity between these ticks as measured in both systems, the first
equation can be used to find:
See also: Relativity of simultaneity and Ladder paradox
Two events happening in two different locations that oc- ∆t′ = γ ∆t for events satisfying ∆x = 0 .
5
This shows that the time (Δt′) between the two ticks as Notice that if the object were moving at the speed of light
seen in the frame in which the clock is moving (S′), is in the S system (i.e. u = c), then it would also be moving
longer than the time (Δt) between these ticks as measured at the speed of light in the S′ system. Also, if both u
in the rest frame of the clock (S). Time dilation explains and v are small with respect to the speed of light, we will
a number of physical phenomena; for example, the life- recover the intuitive Galilean transformation of velocities
time of muons produced by cosmic rays impinging on the
Earth’s atmosphere is measured to be greater than the life-
times of muons measured in the laboratory.[24] u′ ≈ u − v .
The usual example given is that of a train (frame S′ above)
4.3 Length contraction traveling due east with a velocity v with respect to the
tracks (frame S). A child inside the train throws a baseball
See also: Lorentz contraction due east with a velocity u′ with respect to the train. In
nonrelativistic physics, an observer at rest on the tracks
will measure the velocity of the baseball (due east) as u
The dimensions (e.g., length) of an object as measured by = u′ + v, while in special relativity this is no longer true;
one observer may be smaller than the results of measure- instead the velocity of the baseball (due east) is given by
ments of the same object made by another observer (e.g., the second equation: u = (u′ + v)/(1 + u′v/c2 ). Again,
the ladder paradox involves a long ladder traveling near there is nothing special about the x or east directions. This
the speed of light and being contained within a smaller formalism applies to any direction by considering parallel
garage). and perpendicular components of motion to the direction
Similarly, suppose a measuring rod is at rest and aligned of relative velocity v, see main article for details.
along the x-axis in the unprimed system S. In this sys-
tem, the length of this rod is written as Δx. To measure
the length of this rod in the system S′, in which the rod 5 Other consequences
is moving, the distances x′ to the end points of the rod
must be measured simultaneously in that system S′. In
5.1 Thomas rotation
other words, the measurement is characterized by Δt′ =
0, which can be combined with the fourth equation to find
See also: Thomas rotation
the relation between the lengths Δx and Δx′:
Mass–energy equivalence is a consequence of special rel- than 40 light years if the traveller is active between the
ativity. The energy and momentum, which are separate ages of 20 and 60. One would easily think that a traveller
in Newtonian mechanics, form a four-vector in relativity, would never be able to reach more than the very few solar
and this relates the time component (the energy) to the systems which exist within the limit of 20–40 light years
space components (the momentum) in a non-trivial way. from the earth. But that would be a mistaken conclusion.
For an object at rest, the energy–momentum four-vector Because of time dilation, a hypothetical spaceship can
is (E/c, 0, 0, 0): it has a time component which is the travel thousands of light years during the pilot’s 40 ac-
energy, and three space components which are zero. By tive years. If a spaceship could be built that accelerates
changing frames with a Lorentz transformation in the x at a constant 1 g, it will, after a little less than a year, be
direction with a small value of the velocity v, the energy travelling at almost the speed of light as seen from Earth.
momentum four-vector becomes (E/c, Ev/c2 , 0, 0). The This is described by:
momentum is equal to the energy multiplied by the ve- v(t) = √ at
locity divided by c2 . As such, the Newtonian mass of an 2 2
1+ ac2t
object, which is the ratio of the momentum to the velocity where v(t) is the velocity at a time, t, a is the acceler-
for slow velocities, is equal to E/c2 . ation of 1g and t is the time as measured by people on
The energy and momentum are properties of matter and Earth.[30] Therefore, after 1 year of accelerating at 9.81
radiation, and it is impossible to deduce that they form a m/s2 , the spaceship will be travelling at v = 0.77c relative
four-vector just from the two basic postulates of special to Earth. Time dilation will increase the travellers life
relativity by themselves, because these don't talk about span as seen from the reference frame of the Earth to 2.7
matter or radiation, they only talk about space and time. years, but his lifespan measured by a clock travelling with
The derivation therefore requires some additional phys- him will not change. During his journey, people on Earth
ical reasoning. In his 1905 paper, Einstein used the ad- will experience more time than he does. A 5-year round
ditional principles that Newtonian mechanics should hold trip for him will take 6½ Earth years and cover a distance
for slow velocities, so that there is one energy scalar and of over 6 light-years. A 20-year round trip for him (5
one three-vector momentum at slow velocities, and that years accelerating, 5 decelerating, twice each) will land
the conservation law for energy and momentum is exactly him back on Earth having travelled for 335 Earth years
true in relativity. Furthermore, he assumed that the en- and a distance of 331 light years.[31] A full 40-year trip at
ergy of light is transformed by the same Doppler-shift 1 g will appear on Earth to last 58,000 years and cover a
factor as its frequency, which he had previously shown to distance of 55,000 light years. A 40-year trip at 1.1 g will
be true based on Maxwell’s equations.[1] The first of Ein- take 148,000 Earth years and cover about 140,000 light
stein’s papers on this subject was “Does the Inertia of a years. A one-way 28 year (14 years accelerating, 14 de-
Body Depend upon its Energy Content?" in 1905.[25] Al- celerating as measured with the cosmonaut’s clock) trip at
though Einstein’s argument in this paper is nearly univer- 1 g acceleration could reach 2,000,000 light-years to the
sally accepted by physicists as correct, even self-evident, Andromeda Galaxy.[31] This same time dilation is why
many authors over the years have suggested that it is a muon travelling close to c is observed to travel much
wrong.[26] Other authors suggest that the argument was further than c times its half-life (when at rest).[32]
merely inconclusive because it relied on some implicit
assumptions.[27]
Einstein acknowledged the controversy over his deriva- 6 Causality and prohibition of mo-
tion in his 1907 survey paper on special relativity. There
he notes that it is problematic to rely on Maxwell’s equa- tion faster than light
tions for the heuristic mass–energy argument. The argu-
ment in his 1905 paper can be carried out with the emis- See also: Causality (physics) and Tachyonic antitelephone
sion of any massless particles, but the Maxwell equations In diagram 2 the interval AB is 'time-like'; i.e., there is
are implicitly used to make it obvious that the emission of a frame of reference in which events A and B occur at
light in particular can be achieved only by doing work. To the same location in space, separated only by occurring
emit electromagnetic waves, all you have to do is shake a at different times. If A precedes B in that frame, then A
charged particle, and this is clearly doing work, so that precedes B in all frames. It is hypothetically possible for
the emission is of energy.[28][29] matter (or information) to travel from A to B, so there
can be a causal relationship (with A the cause and B the
effect).
5.3 How far can one travel from the Earth? The interval AC in the diagram is 'space-like'; i.e., there is
a frame of reference in which events A and C occur simul-
See also: Space travel using constant acceleration taneously, separated only in space. There are also frames
in which A precedes C (as shown) and frames in which
Since one can not travel faster than light, one might con- C precedes A. If it were possible for a cause-and-effect
clude that a human can never travel farther from Earth relationship to exist between events A and C, then para-
7
7 Geometry of spacetime
Time Main article: Minkowski space
C y' y
t t'
A
v<c v=c
Space
v>c
x' x'
x x
than light when the search light is turned rapidly.[35] where dX = (dX0 , dX1 , dX2 , dX3 ) are the differentials
Even without considerations of causality, there are other of the four spacetime dimensions. This suggests a deep
strong reasons why faster-than-light travel is forbidden by theoretical insight: special relativity is simply a rotational
special relativity. For example, if a constant force is ap- symmetry of our spacetime, analogous to the rotational
plied to an object for a limitless amount of time, then in- symmetry of Euclidean space (see image right).[37] Just
tegrating F = dp/dt gives a momentum that grows without as Euclidean space uses a Euclidean metric, so space-
bound, but this is simply because p = mγv approaches time uses a Minkowski metric. Basically, special relativ-
infinity as v approaches c. To an observer who is not ity can be stated as the invariance of any spacetime inter-
accelerating, it appears as though the object’s inertia is val (that is the 4D distance between any two events) when
increasing, so as to produce a smaller acceleration in re- viewed from any inertial reference frame. All equations
sponse to the same force. This behavior is observed in and effects of special relativity can be derived from this
particle accelerators, where each charged particle is ac- rotational symmetry (the Poincaré group) of Minkowski
celerated by the electromagnetic force. spacetime.
8 8 PHYSICS IN SPACETIME
The actual form of ds above depends on the metric and If we reduce the spatial dimensions to 2, so that we can
on the choices for the X0 coordinate. To make the time represent the physics in a 3D space
coordinate look like the space coordinates, it can be
treated as imaginary: X0 = ict (this is called a Wick rota-
tion). According to Misner, Thorne and Wheeler (1971, ds2 = dx21 + dx22 − c2 dt2 ,
§2.3), ultimately the deeper understanding of both spe-
cial and general relativity will come from the study of the we see that the null geodesics lie along a dual-cone (see
Minkowski metric (described below) and to take X0 = ct, image right) defined by the equation;
rather than a “disguised” Euclidean metric using ict as the
time coordinate.
ds2 = 0 = dx21 + dx22 − c2 dt2
Some authors use X0 = t, with factors of c elsewhere to
compensate; for instance, spatial coordinates are divided or simply
by c or factors of c±2 are included in the metric tensor.[38]
These numerous conventions can be superseded by us-
ing natural units where c = 1. Then space and time have dx2 + dx2 = c2 dt2 ,
1 2
equivalent units, and no factors of c appear anywhere.
which is the equation of a circle of radius c dt.
7.2 3D spacetime
7.3 4D spacetime
If we extend this to three spatial dimensions, the null
geodesics are the 4-dimensional cone:
x1 so
t x12 + x22 = t 2 point in space. That is, when we look at the stars and
say “The light from that star which I am receiving is X
years old”, we are looking down this line of sight: a
null geodesic.
√ We are looking at an event a distance
Three-dimensional dual-cone.
d = x21 + x22 + x23 away and a time d/c in the past.
For this reason the null dual cone is also known as the
'light cone'. (The point in the lower left of the picture
above right represents the star, the origin represents the
observer, and the line represents the null geodesic “line
of sight”.)
The cone in the −t region is the information that the point
is 'receiving', while the cone in the +t section is the infor-
mation that the point is 'sending'.
The geometry of Minkowski space can be depicted us-
t=1c ing Minkowski diagrams, which are useful also in under-
standing many of the thought-experiments in special rel-
ativity.
t=2c Note that, in 4d spacetime, the concept of the center of
t=3c mass becomes more complicated, see center of mass (rel-
ativistic).
t=4c
8 Physics in spacetime
Null spherical space.
8.1 Transformations of physical quantities between reference frames 9
ct′ γ −βγ 0 0 ct γct − γβx dX µ
x′ −βγ γ 0 0 x γx − βγctU µ
= = γ(v)(c, vx , vy , vz ) = γ(v)(c, v).
′ = = . dτ
y 0 0 1 0 y y
z′ 0 0 0 1 z z where the Lorentz factor is:
′ ′ ∂
X µ = Λµ ν X ν (∂µ′ ϕ) = Λµ′ ν (∂ν ϕ) , ∂µ ≡ .
∂xµ
10 8 PHYSICS IN SPACETIME
only in Cartesian coordinates. It’s the covariant derivative use different conventions – see Minkowski metric alter-
which transforms in manifest covariance, in Cartesian co- native signs.
ordinates this happens to reduce to the partial derivatives, The Poincaré group is the most general group of transfor-
but not in other coordinates. mations which preserves the Minkowski metric:
More generally, the covariant components of a 4-vector
transform according to the inverse Lorentz transforma-
′ ′
tion: ηαβ = ηµ′ ν ′ Λµ α Λν β
The 4-velocity U μ has an invariant form: into the observer’s reference frame. This yields a 4-
vector called the four-force. It is the rate of change of
the above energy momentum four-vector with respect to
U2 = ηνµ U ν U µ = −c2 , proper time. The covariant version of the four-force is:
Maxwell’s equations in the 3D form are already consistent observer were travelling together at the same veloc-
with the physical content of special relativity, although ity at all times.
they are easier to manipulate in a manifestly covariant
• The Trouton–Noble experiment (1903) showed that
form, i.e. in the language of tensor calculus.[43] See main
the torque on a capacitor is independent of position
links for more detail.
and inertial reference frame.
• The Experiments of Rayleigh and Brace (1902,
10 Status 1904) showed that length contraction doesn't lead
to birefringence for a co-moving observer, in accor-
dance with the relativity principle.
Main articles: Tests of special relativity and Criticism of
relativity theory
Particle accelerators routinely accelerate and measure the
properties of particles moving at near the speed of light,
Special relativity in its Minkowski spacetime is accurate where their behavior is completely consistent with rela-
only when the absolute value of the gravitational potential tivity theory and inconsistent with the earlier Newtonian
is much less than c2 in the region of interest.[44] In a strong mechanics. These machines would simply not work if
gravitational field, one must use general relativity. Gen- they were not engineered according to relativistic princi-
eral relativity becomes special relativity at the limit of a ples. In addition, a considerable number of modern ex-
weak field. At very small scales, such as at the Planck periments have been conducted to test special relativity.
length and below, quantum effects must be taken into Some examples:
consideration resulting in quantum gravity. However, at
macroscopic scales and in the absence of strong gravita- • Tests of relativistic energy and momentum – testing
tional fields, special relativity is experimentally tested to the limiting speed of particles
extremely high degree of accuracy (10−20 )[45] and thus ac-
cepted by the physics community. Experimental results • Ives–Stilwell experiment – testing relativistic
which appear to contradict it are not reproducible and are Doppler effect and time dilation
thus widely believed to be due to experimental errors. • Time dilation of moving particles – relativistic ef-
Special relativity is mathematically self-consistent, and it fects on a fast-moving particle’s half-life
is an organic part of all modern physical theories, most • Kennedy–Thorndike experiment – time dilation in
notably quantum field theory, string theory, and general accordance with Lorentz transformations
relativity (in the limiting case of negligible gravitational
fields). • Hughes–Drever experiment – testing isotropy of
space and mass
Newtonian mechanics mathematically follows from spe-
cial relativity at small velocities (compared to the speed • Modern searches for Lorentz violation – various
of light) – thus Newtonian mechanics can be considered modern tests
as a special relativity of slow moving bodies. See classical
mechanics for a more detailed discussion. • Experiments to test emission theory demonstrated
that the speed of light is independent of the speed
Several experiments predating Einstein’s 1905 paper are of the emitter.
now interpreted as evidence for relativity. Of these it is
known Einstein was aware of the Fizeau experiment be- • Experiments to test the aether drag hypothesis – no
fore 1905,[46] and historians have concluded that Einstein “aether flow obstruction”.
was at least aware of the Michelson–Morley experiment
as early as 1899 despite claims he made in his later years
that it played no role in his development of the theory.[21] 11 Theories of relativity and quan-
tum mechanics
• The Fizeau experiment (1851, repeated by Michel-
son and Morley in 1886) measured the speed of light Special relativity can be combined with quantum me-
in moving media, with results that are consistent chanics to form relativistic quantum mechanics. It is an
with relativistic addition of colinear velocities. unsolved problem in physics how general relativity and
• The famous Michelson–Morley experiment (1881, quantum mechanics can be unified; quantum gravity and
1887) gave further support to the postulate that a "theory of everything", which require such a unification,
detecting an absolute reference velocity was not are active and ongoing areas in theoretical research.
achievable. It should be stated here that, contrary The early Bohr–Sommerfeld atomic model explained the
to many alternative claims, it said little about the fine structure of alkali metal atoms using both special rel-
invariance of the speed of light with respect to the ativity and the preliminary knowledge on quantum me-
source and observer’s velocity, as both source and chanics of the time.[47]
13
In 1928, Paul Dirac constructed an influential relativistic | Velocity composition paradox | Lighthouse
wave equation, now known as the Dirac equation in his paradox
honour,[48] that is fully compatible both with special rela-
tivity and with the final version of quantum theory exist-
ing after 1926. This equation explained not only the in- 13 References
trinsic angular momentum of the electrons called spin, it
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(the positron),[48][49] and fine structure could only be fully Körper", Annalen der Physik 17: 891; English transla-
explained with special relativity. It was the first founda- tion On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies by George
tion of relativistic quantum mechanics. In non-relativistic Barker Jeffery and Wilfrid Perrett (1923); Another En-
quantum mechanics, spin is phenomenological and can- glish translation On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bod-
not be explained. ies by Megh Nad Saha (1920).
On the other hand, the existence of antiparticles leads [2] Tom Roberts & Siegmar Schleif (October 2007). “What
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Lawson ed.). Routledge. p. 48. ISBN 0-415-25384-5.
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[4] Richard Phillips Feynman (1998). Six Not-so-easy Pieces:
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1995 ed.). Basic Books. p. 68. ISBN 0-201-32842-9.
12 See also
[5] Sean Carroll, Lecture Notes on General Relativity, ch.
1, “Special relativity and flat spacetime,” http://ned.ipac.
People: Hendrik Lorentz | Henri Poincaré
caltech.edu/level5/March01/Carroll3/Carroll1.html
| Albert Einstein | Max Planck | Hermann
Minkowski | Max von Laue | Arnold Sommer- [6] Wald, General Relativity, p. 60: "...the special theory of
feld | Max Born | Gustav Herglotz | Richard C. relativity asserts that spacetime is the manifold ℝ4 with a
Tolman flat metric of Lorentz signature defined on it. Conversely,
the entire content of special relativity ... is contained in
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General relativity | Frame of reference | Inertial [7] Koks, Don (2006). Explorations in Mathematical Physics:
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0-19-966286-9. Extract of page 226
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(relativistic) | physical cosmology | Doppler ef- Spacetime Physics: Introduction to Special Relativity. W.
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hypothesis | Lorentz ether theory | Moving
magnet and conductor problem | Shape waves | [10] Rindler, Wolfgang (1977). Essential Relativity: Special,
General, and Cosmological (illustrated ed.). Springer Sci-
Relativistic heat conduction | Relativistic disk |
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Thomas precession | Born rigidity | Born coor-
07970-5.
dinates
[11] Einstein, Autobiographical Notes, 1949.
Mathematics: Derivations of the Lorentz
transformations | Minkowski space | four- [12] Einstein, “Fundamental Ideas and Methods of the Theory
vector | world line | light cone | Lorentz group of Relativity”, 1920
| Poincaré group | geometry | tensors | split-
complex number | Relativity in the APS for- [13] For a survey of such derivations, see Lucas and Hodgson,
malism Spacetime and Electromagnetism, 1990
Philosophy: actualism | conventionalism | [14] Einstein, A., Lorentz, H. A., Minkowski, H., & Weyl, H.
formalism (1952). The Principle of Relativity: a collection of origi-
nal memoirs on the special and general theory of relativity.
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dox | Ladder paradox | Bell’s spaceship paradox 5.
14 13 REFERENCES
[15] Einstein, On the Relativity Principle and the Conclusions [30] Baglio, Julien (26 May 2007). “Acceleration in special
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[33] R. C. Tolman, The theory of the Relativity of Motion,
ematical Exposition, Springer, ISBN 0-387-94042-1.
(Berkeley 1917), p. 54
[17] Schutz, J. (1997) Independent Axioms for Minkowski
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view D. 2 (2): 263. Bibcode:1970PhRvD...2..263B.
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geneous Balls. Progress in Mathematical Physics. 40. pp.
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planation. University of Pittsburgh. p. 107. ISBN 0-
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[20] Michael Polanyi (1974) Personal Knowledge: Towards a
Post-Critical Philosophy, ISBN 0-226-67288-3, footnote [37] J.R. Forshaw; A.G. Smith (2009). Dynamics and Relativ-
page 10–11: Einstein reports, via Dr N Balzas in response ity. Wiley. p. 247. ISBN 978-0-470-01460-8.
to Polanyi’s query, that “The Michelson–Morley experi-
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of Light, and the Ether Drift”, Einstein’s generation. The
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A. Einstein, Annalen der Physik. 18:639, 1905 (English eral theory of relativity: with modern applications in cos-
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of page 195 (with units where c=1)
[26] Max Jammer (1997). Concepts of Mass in Classical and
Modern Physics. Courier Dover Publications. pp. 177– [45] The number of works is vast, see as example:
178. ISBN 0-486-29998-8. Sidney Coleman; Sheldon L. Glashow (1997). “Cosmic
Ray and Neutrino Tests of Special Relativity”. Physics
[27] John J. Stachel (2002). Einstein from B to Z. Springer. p.
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[28] On the Inertia of Energy Required by the Relativity Princi- 2693(97)00638-2.
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[29] In a letter to Carl Seelig in 1955, Einstein wrote “I had [46] John D. Norton, John D. (2004). “Einstein’s In-
already previously found that Maxwell’s theory did not vestigations of Galilean Covariant Electrodynamics
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therefore have no general validity.”, Einstein letter to Carl ences. 59: 45–105. Bibcode:2004AHES...59...45N.
Seelig, 1955. doi:10.1007/s00407-004-0085-6.
13.2 Journal articles 15
• Wolfgang Rindler (1991). Introduction to Special • On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies English
Relativity (2nd ed.), Oxford University Press. ISBN Translation as published in the 1923 book The Prin-
978-0-19-853952-0; ISBN 0-19-853952-5 ciple of Relativity.
• The Hogg Notes on Special Relativity A good in- • Animation clip on YouTube visualizing the Lorentz
troduction to special relativity at the undergraduate transformation.
level, using calculus.
• Original interactive FLASH Animations from John
• Relativity Calculator: Special Relativity – An alge- de Pillis illustrating Lorentz and Galilean frames,
braic and integral calculus derivation for E = mc2 . Train and Tunnel Paradox, the Twin Paradox, Wave
Propagation, Clock Synchronization, etc.
• MathPages – Reflections on Relativity A complete
online book on relativity with an extensive bibliog- • lightspeed An OpenGL-based program developed
raphy. to illustrate the effects of special relativity on the
appearance of moving objects.
• Relativity An introduction to special relativity at the
undergraduate level, without calculus. • Animation showing the stars near Earth, as seen
from a spacecraft accelerating rapidly to light speed.
•
14.4 Visualization
• Raytracing Special Relativity Software visualizing
several scenarios under the influence of special rel-
ativity.
Monkbot, JhonASF, Gjbayes, TE5ITA, Zachman727, Neeraj Bhakta, Jayache88, ChamithN, JoKent, The Average Wikipedian, Bondy11u,
Corsairio, Tetra quark, Spyridon Vossos, 2TonyTony, Nøkkenbuer, Grammarian3.14159265359, KasparBot, Kafishabbir, Sir Cumference,
DamnLetMeLogIn, Trambak J Chall, Wikidalien, Mysticdan, Harshumarathe, Goodphy, JGS952, HLEO kixxs, M0a1r1c7h and Anony-
mous: 768
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