Special relativity, published by Einstein in 1905, revolutionized physics by describing how matter moves through space and time. It has been confirmed to an accuracy of over twenty decimal places and is based on two postulates: the laws of physics are the same regardless of speed, and the speed of light is constant. Special relativity abandons the concepts of absolute space and time and unifies them into a four-dimensional structure called spacetime. Objects moving at high speeds appear to behave strangely, with increased mass, distorted shape, and slower time. Special relativity also forbids objects from traveling faster than light and information from being sent back in time.
Special relativity is a scientific theory that describes how matter moves through time and space. When it was first published in 1905 by Albert Einstein, special relativity caused a revolution in the physics community and made us look at the universe in a new light. Special relativity is one of the most confirmed physical theories of all time and its predictions have been verified to an accuracy of more than twenty decimal places.
The two basic postulates of special relativity are that the laws of physics are the same regardless of absolute speed, and that the speed of light is constant for all observers. If you’re in a closed box that’s moving at a constant speed, special relativity predicts that no experiment you do inside the box can tell you how fast the box is moving. Similarly, the speed of light will remain the same for an observer inside the box, even if the box itself is moving at a large fraction of the speed of light.
Special relativity abandons the notions of “absolute space” and “absolute time” developed by Newton. Under special relativity, there is no such thing as a single universal time; rather, time is different for every observer. There is also no single universal measure of space; a single ruler can be longer or shorter depending on who measures it. Finally, special relativity unifies the concepts of space and time into a single four-dimensional structure called “spacetime”.
According to special relativity, if an object is moving at high speed relative to you, the object will appear to be behaving strangely. Its mass will increase, so that it becomes increasingly difficult to accelerate as it approaches the speed of light. It will appear to shrink in its direction of movement, becoming increasingly distorted as it travels faster. The object’s time will also be distorted; if there is a clock on the object, it will appear to be ticking more slowly. These effects occur on every object, but only become apparent as the objects approach the speed of light.
Special relativity forbids any object from traveling faster than the speed of light. If an object appears to be going faster than the speed of light to an observer, it must be possible to find an observer who sees the object travel back in time. When an object’s speed approaches that of light, its mass and kinetic energy go to infinity. Information may not travel faster than light either, as this would also allow messages to be sent back in time.
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