Astr 350 | Lecture 17 | Fall 2012
Astronomy 350
Lecture 17, Oct 8 Fall 2012

Lecture Notes: pdf file

Special Relativity: Theory

  • principle of relativity
  • the price: relativity of simultaneity
  • Gedankenexperiment--light clock: animations here and here
  • other consequences:
    length contraction
    time dilation
  • relativity, mass, and energy
    nonrelativistic vs ultrarelativistic motions

Special Relativity: Tests and Evidence

Special Relativity and Causality

  • universal speed limit: c
  • causality and light cone
Albert Einstein as a patent clerk

Lecture Archive


Brian D. Fields
Last modified: Sun Oct 7 15:56:03 CDT 2012