ASTRO 1 Lecture 21: 21
Document Summary
Introduction to special relativity: no matter what your constant velocity, the laws of physics are the same. When inside a train, there is no way to tell if it is moving. The speed you measure for ordinary objects depends on how you are moving: no matter what your constant velocity, the speed of light in a vacuum is the same. If you go fast towards light, light is still seen by you at 3*108m/s. The constantt speed of light has some very interesting consequences: space and time are intertwined. T=time interval measured by an observer moving relative to the phenomenon. T0=time interval measured by an observer not moving relative to the phenomenon (proper time) L = length measured (along the direction of motion) by an observer moving relative to the phenomenon. L0 = length measured by an observer not moving relative to the phenomenon (proper length) V = speed of the moving observer relative to the phenomenon.
