Space-Time Lab - Tutor Page 1


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Special Relativity

Well for an entire term in Ph 1a, you studied mechanics based on the laws of Newton. Now, I am here to demonstrate to you that the laws that are the basis of Newtonian Mechanics are wrong! At speeds approaching, or at the speed of light, the laws of Newtonian Mechanics no longer hold. This boggled science for many years until Albert Einstein introduced Special Relativity.
There are two theories of relativity discovered by Einstein, one is called the Special Theory of Relativity and the other the General Theory of Relativity. The 'special-ness" of Special Relativity is that it is restricted to objects moving with a uniform velocity in a straight line. General relativity includes such phenomena as gravity. This lab will discuss Special Relativity.

So what is relativity? Click Next.
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