Principle of relativity those frames do not, in general experience, seem to abide by the same laws of physics. In classical physics, fictitious forces are used to describe acceleration in non-inertial reference frames. The special principle of relativity was first explicitly enunciated by Galileo Galilei in 1632 in his "Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems", using the metaphor of Galileo's ship. Newtonian mechanics added to the special principle several other concepts, including laws of motion, gravitation, and an assertion of an absolute time. When formulated in the context of these laws, the special principle of relativity states that the laws of mechanics
Tests of general relativity principle could occur in a theory of gravitation, but do not occur in general relativity. Other important theoretical developments included the inception of alternative theories to general relativity, in particular, scalar-tensor theories such as the Brans–Dicke theory; the parameterized post-Newtonian formalism in which deviations from general relativity can be quantified; and the framework of the equivalence principle. Experimentally, new developments in space exploration, electronics and condensed matter physics have made additional precise experiments possible, such as the Pound–Rebka experiment, laser interferometry and lunar rangefinding. Early tests of general relativity were hampered by the lack of viable competitors to the theory: