Theory of relativity

Special relativity

Einstein's 1905 paper, "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies", introduced the special theory of relativity. Special relativity considers that observers in inertial reference frames, which are in uniform motion relative to one another, cannot perform any experiment to determine which one of them is in "absolute motion". The theory postulates that the speed of light in a vacuum will be the same for these observers (i.e. an observer invariant speed).

Related Topics:
1905 - Electrodynamics - Special theory of relativity - Inertial reference frame - Speed of light - Vacuum - Invariant speed

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One of the strengths of special relativity is that it can be derived from only a few premises:

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• The speed of light in vacuum is a constant (specifically, 299,792,458 metres per second).
• The laws of physics are the same for all observers in inertial frames.