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Special Relativity ○𓆪｜Definition｜1st｜20251119205401-00-⌔

Special relativity - Wikipedia

Special relativity

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In physics, the special theory of relativity, or simply special relativity, is a scientific theory of the relationship between space and time. In Albert Einstein’s 1905 paper, “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies”, the theory is presented as being based on just two postulates:123

  • The laws of physics are invariant (identical) in all inertial frames of reference (that is, frames of reference with no acceleration). This is known as the principle of relativity.
  • The speed of light in vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of the motion of light source or observer. This is known as the principle of light constancy, or the principle of light speed invariance.

The first postulate was first formulated by Galileo Galilei (see Galilean invariance).

Printed 2026-06-28.

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Footnotes

  1. Albert Einstein (1905) “Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper”, Annalen der Physik 17: 891; English translation On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies by George Barker Jeffery and Wilfrid Perrett (1923); another English translation On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies by Megh Nad Saha (1920). ↩

  2. Griffiths, David J. (2013). “Electrodynamics and Relativity”. Introduction to Electrodynamics (4th ed.). Pearson. Chapter 12. ISBN 978-0-321-85656-2. ↩

  3. Jackson, John D. (1999). “Special Theory of Relativity”. Classical Electrodynamics (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons. Chapter 11. ISBN 0-471-30932-X. ↩

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