The Mechanical Principle of Relativity

Einstein's Theories of Relativity and Gravitation by Albert Einstein, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here. The Mechanical Principle of Relativity

The Mechanical Principle of Relativity

It has been ascertained that all such frames are equally suitable for the mathematical statement of general mechanical laws, provided that their motion is rectilinear and uniform and without rotation. This fact is comprehended in the general statement that all unaccelerated frames of reference are equivalent for the statement of the general laws of mechanics. This is the mechanical principle of relativity.

It is well recognized however that the laws of dynamics as hitherto stated involve the assumptions that the lengths of rigid bodies are unaffected by the motion of the frame of reference, and that measured times are likewise unaffected; that is to say that any length measured on his own system by either of two relatively moving observers appears the same to both observers, or that lengths of objects and rates of clocks do not alter whatever the motion relative to an observer. These assumptions [171]seem so obvious that it is scarcely perceived that they are assumptions at all. Yet this is the case, and as a matter of fact they are both untrue.

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This book is part of the public domain. Albert Einstein (2020). Einstein's Theories of Relativity and Gravitation. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022.

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