special relativity

Also known as SR, special theory of relativity, STR

physical theory of measurement in an inertial frame of reference proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein

AI overview

Special relativity is Einstein's 1905 theory that describes how measurements of space and time work differently depending on the observer's frame of reference, particularly for objects moving at constant speeds. It matters because it fundamentally changed how we understand the basic nature of space, time, and motion in the universe.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Instance of: physical law
Part of: theory of relativity
Image: Gedankenexperiment Zeitdilitation.svg

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time of discovery or invention: 1905-00-00
inception: 1905-00-00
on focus list of Wikimedia project: Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
Commons category: Special relativity
topic's main category: Category:Special relativity
discoverer or inventor: Albert Einstein
has characteristic: mass in special relativity
Stack Exchange tag: astronomy.stackexchange.com/tags/special-relativity
invariant under: Lorentz transformation
history of topic: history of special relativity

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Encyclopedic overview

Albert Einstein around 1905, the year his paper on special relativity was published

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:

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “special relativity” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.