The Special Theory

Of Relativity
Albert Einstein
Measuring
an
event
“Time is relative” they say.

“Time is relative” means the rate of change of time is not same for
every frame of reference. Two people sitting in two other frames of
reference can measure different rate of time, i.e. one's clocks can tick
faster than others or vice-versa.

But Einstein said “Time

is Relative”, right ?
 Frames Of Reference
A framework that is used for the
observation and mathematical
description of physical phenomena
and the formulation of physical laws,
usually consisting of an observer and
a clock assigning times at positions
with respect to the coordinate system.

Is Earth a Inertial Frame of Reference ?

What is Relativity
In 19th century it was believed that when the Newton’s Laws
of Motion and its associated ideas about time and space were
completely understood. However the Maxwell’s theory of
electromagnetism disrupted the normal affairs. It was Albert
Einstein who formulated new principles in terms of which
space, time, matter, and energy were to be understood.
These principles and their consequences constitute the
Special Theory of Relativity.

The Principle of Relativity :

The laws of physics take the same form in all frames of
reference moving with constant velocity with respect to one
another.
Postulates of the Theory

1st Postulate :
The laws of physics are the same and can be stated in their
simplest form in all inertial frames of reference.

2nd Postulate :
The speed of light c is a constant, independent of the relative
motion of the source.
Ether
According to ancient and medieval science ether (also called
quintessence) is the hypothetical material that fills the region
of the universe above the terrestrial sphere.

The concept of Ether was proposed by Aristotle which stated

that light travelled through the medium of ether in empty
space which would otherwise be impossible.
Galilean Transformation
1. Based on laws of uniform motion
2. Equations-
x’=x-vt
t’=t
3. Relate the space and time of two
systems moving at a constant velocity
relative to each other.
4. Adequate to describe phenomena at
speeds much smaller than the speed
of light.
5. Express the ideas that space and time
are absolute; that length, time, and
mass are independent of the relative
motion of the observer.
6. The speed of light depends upon the
relative motion of the observer.
Galilean equations :
Xstanding = Xcar + vt
X’ = X + vt
t’ = t
 EINSTEIN VS NEWTON
1 . Newton : Gravity is a force.
Einstein: Gravity is a
characteristic feature.
2. Newton: Space is a static frame.
Einstein : Space and time are
very reactive to motions of the
universe.
3. Newton : Speed of a body can be
increased infinitely.
Einstein : Maximum speed
attainable by a body is the speed of
light (c).
RELATIVITY AND UNIFYING
ELECTROMAGNETISM
LORENTZ
TRANSFORMATIONS
 N GT H N
L E C TI O
N T R A
CO
Length contraction is the
phenomenon that a moving
object's length is measured to be
shorter than its proper length.It is
also known as Lorentz
contraction or Lorentz–FitzGerald
contraction. it is usually only
noticeable at a substantial fraction
of the speed of light. Length
contraction is only in the
direction in which the body is
travelling.
SPACESHIP MOVING AT 10% OF LIGHT SPACESHIP MOVING AT 86.5% OF LIGHT

SPACESHIP MOVING AT 99% OF LIGHT SPACESHIP MOVING AT 99.99% OF LIGHT

Speed of Spaceship Observed Length Observed Height

At rest 200 ft 40 ft

10 % the speed of light 199 ft 40 ft

86.5 % the speed of light 100 ft 40 ft

99 % the speed of light 28 ft 40 ft

99.99 % the speed of light 3 ft 40 ft

TIME DILATION
 Time dilation
SLOWING DOWN OF TIME

TWO TYPES
IN TERMS OF IN TERMS OF
GENERAL SPECIAL
RELATIVITY RELATIVITY
 Influenced by the ideas of the
two great scientist

SIR ISAAC JAMES

NEWTON MAXWELL:
LAWS OF MOTION
LAWS OF
SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY ELCTROMAGN
(1905) ETIC WAVE:
TIME DILATION LIGHT
● The twin that
travels into space
ages slowly.

● The twin on earth

will be older when
the traveling twin
gets back.
TIME TRAVEL

IS IT POSSIBLE?
 TIME TRAVEL IS POSSIBLE.
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS:

Possess a lot of money. .

Build a super fast spacecraft.

Travel at 99.98% of the speed

of light.

Keep travelling for 500 earth

years.
sy? l ly.
E a rea
No t
No. You will age only 5 years.
Meet the greatest
time traveller in human
history.

803 days, 9 hours, 39

minutes.

Went forward 0.02

seconds.

SERGEI KRIKALEV
 2
E=mc
1. Originally introduced by Sir Albert
Einstein in 1905 in his paper ‘Does the
inertia of a moving body depend on its
energy content?’

2. Simply means that mass and energy are

interconvertible using a constant-c2

3. Emerged as a result of the special theory

of relativity

4. It combines the two laws-conservation of

mass and conservation of energy
 VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE
EQUATION
1. Even a small amount of mass at rest has a very
large amount of energy .

2. As the energy content of the object increases its

mass increases and vice versa.

3. The energy required for an object to travel at the

speed of light is infinite. Hence, no object can
travel at the speed of light.

4. If an object travels at the speed of light, its mass

becomes infinite.

5. Implication-
Mass defect in a nuclear reaction i.e difference
between the mass of an atom as a whole and its Who stole the mass ?
constituents.
Uses of dopplers’ law:
● Astronomy

● Medical Imaging

● Radars
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
● Cosmos (Carl Sagan)
● Minute Physics (Youtube channel)
● Welcome to the Universe (Richard Gott)
● Wikipedia
● Photo credits : Pinterest
● Ted Education (Youtube channel)
● Fermilab (Youtube channel)
● Quora
 Special Thanks To :
Sagar Sir , Shaubori Tr., Neetu Tr. for
guiding us.

Principal - Dr. Surekha Kulkarni Madam &

Vice Principal - Sanjeev C. Sir. for giving us
the opportunity to let us express our views
on this amazing topic.
Presentation credits :
VRUSHANK MORE
KARTIK PATIL
PRAJAKTA PATKARI
OMKAR WAGHADKAR
ADITYA MUNDADA
ANWESHA RAHUDE
CHINMAYEE MAGAR
SHRAVANI KORDE