Special Relativity

Almost three centuries before Albert Einstein presented the special theory of relativity, Galileo Galilei devised a principle of relativity involving uniform motion.

For the speed of light to be constant for all observers, space and time cannot be absolute, universal dimensions that are identical for everyone.

Discoveries in electromagnetism, which suggested that light traveled at a single speed, became the catalyst for overturning Isaac Newton's view that all speeds are relative.

While special relativity describes motion along flat spacetime—the underlying fabric of the universe—general relativity extends this theory to explain motion through curved spacetime.

According to the special theory of relativity, the faster objects move through space, the less they move through time, and therefore age more slowly.

Individuals moving at different speeds may disagree on the order of observed events because each experiences the passage of time differently, according to special relativity.

In the 'block universe' model—a consequence of the special theory of relativity—the past, present, and future exist simultaneously, suggesting free will is an illusion.

Play a puzzle game where beating levels requires taking advantage of the effects of special relativity, including time dilation and length contraction.

By combining special relativity with quantum mechanics, antimatter was predicted four years before it was observed, though the math suggested it possessed negative energy.

Particles produced in cosmic-ray showers that would normally decay long before reaching Earth's surface are observed by ground-based detectors, as predicted by special relativity.