Physics 139: Special Relativity and General Relativity

Instructor: George Smoot



Special Relativity Postulates

According to Einstein

1. Relativity principle: The laws of physics have the same form in all inertial reference frames.

2. Constancy of speed of light: Light propagates through empty space with a definite speed c independent of the source or observer.

Consequences of these postulates best examined with `gedanken' experiments.