Special Theory of Relativity

Special Theory of Relativity provides a discussion of the special theory of relativity. Special relativity is not, like other scientific theories, a statement about the matter that forms the physical world, but has the form of a condition that the explicit physical theories must satisfy. It is thus a form of description, playing to some extent the role of the grammar of physics, prescribing which combinations of theoretical statements are admissible as descriptions of the physical world. Thus, to describe it, one needs also to describe those specific theories and to say how much they are limited by it. The book is organized into two parts. The first part traces the historical development of the special theory of relativity, including Einstein's contribution, the elementary consequences of the Lorentz transformation, and applications in quantum theory. The second part contains extracts from various publications covering topics such as relative motion of the earth, and the luminiferous and dynamics of the electron.