Special relativity/Unfinished notes

Newtonian physics

Einsteinian physics[?]

The two principles of relativity, as set down in Einstein's 1905 paper, are

• the laws of electromagnetism (i.e. Maxwell's equations) are consistent with the laws of mechanics in all reference frames
• the speed of light in vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of their motion or the motion of the source of the light.

From these assumptions, the following consequences can be derived about the perspective of an event in two reference frames, S and S', where S' is traveling at a relative speed of u to S.

Consequences:

• time dilation[?]
• length contraction[?]
• relativistic momentum[?]
• relativistic energy[?] and inertia
• relativity of simultaneity
• c is a speed limit

Lorentz transformation, Lorentz invariance

See also : Special relativity