When we are talking about relativity we often talk about “Frames of reference”. These
are simply some words to discriminate between observers (i.e. people) that are
movingr elative to each other.

In a previous session we discussed how two observers, one stationary (relative to us!)
and one moving (relative to us) would measure a completely different speed for the
same object because they themselves have differentr elative speeds.

For instance, consider three people, A, B and C and they are all equipped with speed measuring devices. Person A is stood still on the roadside, and persons B and C are driving cars. Person B is travelling at 30mph and Person C is travelling at 60mph.

Person A measure the same speeds as we do since we are stationary to person A.
However, Person B would only measure Person C moving forwards at 30 mph and
would see Person A moving backwards at 30mph too. Person C would measure
Person B moving backwards at 30mph and Person A moving backwards at 60mph!
This is our everyday notion of relative motion.

About a century ago, a physicist named James Maxwell wrote a famous set of
equations about light. He deduced that the speed of light was a fixed number, unlike a
car where you can vary the speed by pressing the accelerator or the brake pedals. In
any given material there is nothing that can change the speed of light, it is a law of
nature.

Going back to our picture with the cars, whether we are standing still, driving at
30mph or 60mph, it is reasonable to assume that the laws of nature are the same
everyone. Just because you are moving faster or slower than someone else does not
mean that the laws of nature will change for you.

For Einstein this raised a worrying question: what if Person’s A, B and C were all to
try measuring the speed of light? Because they all have different relative speeds to
each other; Person A and B never agree on Person C’s speed, and so on. However, the