Special Relativity
Special Relativity, proposed by Albert Einstein, tells us that space and time are interwoven into one fabric known as 'space-time.' It implies that time can 'slow down' or 'speed up' for someone moving compared to another person at rest, this is time dilation. Additionally, it shows objects in motion appear shorter in their direction of motion, called length contraction. These phenomena occur because the speed of light (around 300,000 km/sec) is the same for all observers, regardless of their own speed or the light source's speed.
Additional Insights
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Special relativity, proposed by Albert Einstein in 1905, revolutionized our understanding of space and time. It states that the laws of physics are the same for all observers, regardless of their relative motion. A key insight is that the speed of light is constant in a vacuum for all observers, leading to phenomena like time dilation (time slowing down for fast-moving objects) and length contraction (objects appearing shorter in the direction of motion). Essentially, it shows that space and time are interconnected in a single continuum, fundamentally altering how we perceive the universe.