Special relativity
Main article: History of special relativity The history of special relativity consists of many theoretical results and empirical findings obtained by Hendrik Lorentz, Henri Poincaré and others. It culminated in the theory of special relativity proposed by Albert Einstein, and subsequent work of Max Planck, Hermann Minkowski and othersHis 1905 paper on the electrodynamics Classical electromagnetism is a branch of theoretical physics that studies consequences of the electromagnetic forces between electric charges and currents. It provides an excellent description of electromagnetic phenomena whenever the relevant length scales and field strengths are large enough that quantum mechanical effects are negligible (see of moving bodies introduced the radical theory of special relativity Special relativity (also known as the special theory of relativity or STR) is the physical theory of measurement in inertial frames of reference proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein (after the considerable and independent contributions of Hendrik Lorentz, Henri Poincaré and others) in the paper "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies", which showed that the observed independence of the speed of light The speed of light is a fundamental physical constant of spacetime, the speed at which electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, travels in free space. It is an upper bound on the rate of transfer of matter and information between places. The speed of light is usually denoted by the symbol c on the observer's state of motion required fundamental changes to the notion of simultaneity The relativity of simultaneity is the concept that simultaneity is not absolute, but dependent on the observer. That is, according to the special theory of relativity formulated by Albert Einstein in 1905, it is impossible to say in an absolute sense whether two events occur at the same time if those events are separated in space. Where the event. Consequences of this include the time-space frame In physics, spacetime is any mathematical model that combines space and time into a single continuum. Spacetime is usually interpreted with space being three-dimensional and time playing the role of a fourth dimension that is of a different sort than the spatial dimensions. According to certain Euclidean space perceptions, the universe has three of a moving body slowing down Time dilation is the phenomenon whereby an observer finds that another's clock, which is physically identical to their own, is ticking at a slower rate as measured by their own clock. This is often interpreted as time "slowing down" for the other clock, but that is only true in the context of the observer's frame of reference. Locally , and contracting Length contraction, according to Hendrik Lorentz, is the physical phenomenon of a decrease in length detected by an observer in objects that travel at any non-zero velocity relative to that observer. This contraction is usually only noticeable, however, at a substantial fraction of the speed of light; and the contraction is only in the direction (in the direction of motion) relative to the frame of the observer. This paper also argued that the idea of a luminiferous aether In the late 19th century, "luminiferous aether" , meaning light-bearing aether, was the term used to describe a medium for the propagation of light. The word aether stems via Latin from the Greek αιθήρ, from a root meaning to kindle, burn, or shine. It signifies the substance which was thought in ancient times to fill the upper—one of the leading theoretical entities in physics at the time—was superfluous.[33] In his paper on mass–energy equivalence, which had previously considered to be distinct concepts, Einstein deduced from his equations of special relativity what has been called the twentieth century's best-known equation: E = mc2.[34][35] This equation suggests that tiny amounts of mass could be converted into huge amounts of energy and presaged the development of nuclear power Nuclear power is any nuclear technology designed to extract usable energy from atomic nuclei via controlled nuclear reactions. The only method in use today is through nuclear fission, though other methods might one day include nuclear fusion and radioactive decay . All utility-scale reactors heat water to produce steam, which is then converted.[36] Einstein's 1905 work on relativity remained controversial for many years, but was accepted by leading physicists, starting with Max Planck Max Planck was a German physicist. He is considered to be the founder of the quantum theory, and thus one of the most important physicists of the twentieth century. Planck was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918.[37][38]
<<Table of Contents Albert Einstein was an ethnically Jewish, German-born theoretical physicist. He is best known for his theories of special relativity and general relativity. Einstein received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.". He is often | Next>> | Show All>>
