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Special relativity / Elementary Tour part 1: Relative to whom?
“Everything is relative,” as the pop version of Einstein’s theory goes. Not so. That statement, for instance, is absolutely wrong. The scope of special relativity is rather more narrow. It concerns...
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Special relativity / Elementary Tour part 2: The principle of relativity
If you think about space stations drifting along in empty space, some statements that are surely relative spring to mind right away: statements about velocities. Imagine that, from the point of view of...
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Special relativity / Elementary Tour part 3: The relativity of space and time
One of the most surprising features of special relativity is that a number of statements and results which we usually think to be absolute turn out to be observer-dependent. In particular, statements...
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Special relativity / Elementary Tour part 4: The speed of light
On the previous pages, relativity reigned supreme. Although we usually think of lengths and times as absolute, they turned out to be observer-dependent. On this page, the shoe is on the other foot....
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Special relativity / Elementary Tour part 5: Spacetime
“All the world’s a stage.” – that’s how we’re used to viewing space: As a stage on which objects are located and where the dramas of their movements and evolution take place. In special relativity, as...
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Special relativity / Elementary Tour part 6: E=mc²
Now that the new features of space and time are sufficiently explored, it’s time to examine how this affects the way objects move, either freely or when influenced by forces. In other words: How does...
View ArticleSpecial relativity / Elementary Tour: Conclusion
As this brief tour of special relativity has shown, we have to re-think our notions of space and time in Einstein’s world. Moving clocks tick at a slower rate, light speed is the same for all...
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