“Einsteins Postulates”

o Introduction
It is one hundred years since Einstein formulated his postulates for the invariant property of
light, namely that the speed of light is always c (≈300,000 km/s) for any uniformly moving
observer, which is equivalent to the assertion that there is no preferred frame, that there is no
detectable space, that a three-dimensional space has no physical existence.
o Inertial & Non-inertial frame of reference
• Inertial frame of reference
An inertial frame of reference is a reference frame that has a constant velocity. This includes a
velocity of 0 m/s.
Example:
A camera fixed to the ground is stationary and thus will capture a video from an inertial frame
of reference.
• Non-inertial frame of reference
Non-inertial frame of reference is a reference frame is one that accelerates and thus does not have a constant
velocity. This acceleration may constitute only directional changes and the speed of a non-inertial frame of
reference can thus be constant.
Example:
A camera falling down will capture a video from a non-inertial frame of reference since the camera itself is
experiencing gravitational acceleration.
o Einstein’s postulates
1. First Postulate (The principle of relativity)
The first postulate of special relativity states that the laws of physics and electromagnetism are
the same in any inertial frame of reference.
• Example
Suppose two passengers are standing in two train carriages observing the falling motion of a
ball under the influence of gravity. The first passenger (left) is standing in a stationary train
while the second passenger (right) is standing in a train that is moving at constant velocity.
Both passengers are in inertial frames of reference and the laws of Newtonian physics apply in
the same way for them. Both people will observe the ball falling in a vertical path. If the train
carriages are windowless, the two passengers will have no way of knowing whether their train
is stationary or moving at constant velocity.
2. Second postulate (The principle of constancy of light speed)
• The second postulate of special relativity states that the speed of light in a vacuum is
constant at c = 3 x 108 m/s in all inertial frames of reference.
• The second postulate is an extension of the first postulate. In the electromagnetism theory
proposed by Maxwell, the velocity of electromagnetic waves is given by
𝟏
𝐜=
𝛍𝟎 𝛜𝟎
This equation relates the speed of light to magnetic and electric constants which by law should
not vary with an observer's frame of reference. In other words, the equation implies that the
speed of light should be constant regardless of the relative velocity between the source of light
and the observer who is measuring its velocity.
• Example
This postulate has several implications, primarily it contradicts Newtonian relative motion. If
you were travelling at 0.5c in the same direction alongside a beam of light, Newtonian
mechanics says you would observe the speed of the light beam to be 0.5c. However, according
to Special Relativity, you would still be observing the speed of light to be at c.
When a stationary person measures the speed of light emitted on a train at rest, the speed is
simply c. However, when the speed of light is still c even when the train is moving relative to
the person.