History of special relativity History of special relativity The history of special relativity consists of many theoretical results and empirical findings obtained by Albert A. Michelson, Hendrik Lorentz, Henri Poincaré and others. It culminated in the theory of special relativity proposed by Albert Einstein and subsequent work of Max Planck, Hermann Minkowski and others. Although Isaac Newton based his physics on absolute time and space, he also adhered to the principle of relativity of Galileo Galilei restating it precisely for mechanical systems . This can be stated as: as far as the laws of mechanics are concerned, all observers in inertial motion are equally
Principle of relativity the Lorentz transformations from the principle of relativity "alone" and obtain the constancy of the speed of light as a "consequence". Using only the isotropy of space and the symmetry implied by the principle of special relativity, one can show that the space-time transformations between inertial frames are either Galilean or Lorentzian. In the Lorentzian case, one can then obtain relativistic interval conservation and the constancy of the speed of light. The general principle of relativity states: That is, physical laws are the same in "all" reference frames—inertial or non-inertial. An accelerated charged particle might emit synchrotron radiation, though a