• If you were to wake up on the bus and

could not see out any of the windows,

would you be able to tell if you were
moving or not?
Special Relativity
 Theory of Relativity
• In 1905, Albert Einstein developed
his Theory of Special Relativity
– How we move through a space
changes on how we move through
time
• Special relativity refers to motion
through a space at constant velocity
• General relativity refers to
accelerated motion through a space
 Space-Time
• Einstein reasoned that space and
time are two parts of one whole
called space-time
• From the viewpoint of special
relativity, we travel through a
combination space and time
– When we stand still, we are only
traveling through the time portion of
space-time
– When we move a bit, we travel through
both aspects of space-time
 Space-Time
• If we could somehow travel
through space at the speed of
light, no time would elapse in our
own perspective
• Whenever we move through space,
we alter our rate of moving
through time
–Time Dilation: The stretching of
time an object experiences as it
approaches the speed of light
 Summary of Space-TIme
When you stand still, you are
traveling at the maximum rate in
time: 24 hours per day
If you traveled at the maximum
rate through space (the speed of
light), time would stand still
 Motion is Relative
• Whenever we discuss motion, we must
pick a reference point
– Usually we refer to motion relative to
the surface of the earth
– Example: On a bus, you may travel 0
mi/h relative to the seat, but 60 mi/h
relative to the road outside
• Speed is a relative quantity, meaning its
value changes based on location, or
frame of reference
 Motion is Relative
• The speed of an object coming
from a moving reference frame:
– Add the speed of the object itself to
the speed of the reference frame

vball = 40 mph (relative to the ground)

vtruck = 0 mph (relative to the ground)
 Motion is Relative
• The speed of an object coming
from a moving reference frame:
– Add the speed of the object itself to
the speed of the reference frame

vball = 40 mph (relative to the ground)

vtruck = 20 mph (relative to the ground)
 Motion is Relative
• The speed of an object coming
from a moving reference frame:
– Add the speed of the object itself to
the speed of the reference frame

vball = 40 mph (relative to the ground)

vtruck = -20 mph (opposite direction of ball)
The Speed of Light is Constant
• Light does not behave like the
baseball thrown from the truck
• No matter what the speed of the
source of the light, light will
always travel toward an observer
at the same speed
– If light is a constant, then space and
time must be a single unit
– Altering the rate of one will alter the
rate of the other
The Speed of Light is Constant
• The speed of
light is found to
be the same in
all frames of
reference,
moving or not
• Represented by
the variable, c
• c = 3x108 m/s
(in a vacuum)
Postulates of Special Relativity
• First Postulate: All laws of nature are
the same in all uniformly moving
frames of reference
– i.e. The behavior of a coin when flipped on
a plane that is moving at constant velocity
is no different than if flipped while
standing still
• No experiment confined in the moving
reference frame itself can determine
whether or not there is uniform motion
Postulates of Special Relativity
• Second Postulate: The speed of
light, c, in empty space will always
have the same value regardless of
the motion of the source or
observer.
 Time Dilation
• Light Clock: A
flash of light
bounces back
and forth
between
parallel
mirrors and
“ticks” equal
intervals of
time
 Time Dilation
• Consider a light clock observed from someone inside
a fast-moving space ship
– This observer would see the light bouncing vertically up
and down
• Consider a light clock observed from someone
outside a fast-moving space ship
– This observer would see the light moving along a
diagonal path, which is therefore longer
 The Twin Trip
• Consider identical twins:
– One twin takes a high speed round-trip
journey
– The other twin stays on Earth
• When he returns, the traveling twin
will be younger than his stay-at-home
twin
– i.e.) Traveling at 50% c, 1.15 years will
elapse on earth
– i.e.) Traveling at 99.5% c, 10 years will
elapse on earth
 The Twin Trip
• If motion is relative, why wouldn’t
the traveling twin come home to find
the Earth twin younger than himself?
 The Twin Trip

The light flashes have less distance to

travel as the ship gets closer to the receiver
 The Twin Trip

The light flashes have more distance to travel

as the ship gets farther from the receiver
The Twin Trip
The Twin Trip
The Twin Trip
The Twin Trip
 The Twin Trip
• Therefore, both twins agree on the
same results:
– The Earth twin has aged more than the
traveling twin
• The traveling twin experiences two
frames of reference: One on the way
out and one on the way back
• The Earth twin experienced a single,
different reference frame
• They meet again at the same point in
space, but never the same point in time
 Space and Time Travel
• Before the theory of relativity, no
one thought we could ever travel
great distances in space
– Our life span is too short to cover such
great distances
• Today, because of time dilation, we
know that time for a person on Earth is
different than time for a person in a
high-speed spacecraft
– Problem: The amount of energy needed to
propel a spacecraft near the speed of light
is too great.
 Space and Time Travel
• In the future, people may have
the option to travel into space and
return to a future century of their
choosing
• These people could never come back to
the same era they left
– Time travels only one way – FORWARD
• Time and space, and therefore
space-time, exist in the universe, not
vice versa
– Without the universe, there would be no
space or time