Special theory of relativity in the context of "Invariant (physics)"

A spacetime diagram is a graphical illustration of locations in space at various times, especially in the special theory of relativity. Spacetime diagrams can show the geometry underlying phenomena like time dilation and length contraction without mathematical equations.

The history of an object's location through time traces out a line or curve on a spacetime diagram, referred to as the object's world line. Each point in a spacetime diagram represents a unique position in space and time and is referred to as an event.

Hermann Minkowski (22 June 1864 – 12 January 1909) was a mathematician and professor at the University of Königsberg, ETH Zürich, and the University of Göttingen, described variously as German, Polish, Lithuanian-German, or Russian. He created and developed the geometry of numbers and elements of convex geometry, and used geometrical methods to solve problems in number theory, mathematical physics, and the theory of relativity.

Minkowski is perhaps best known for his foundational work describing space and time as a four-dimensional space, now known as "Minkowski spacetime", which facilitated geometric interpretations of Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity (1905).

Faster-than-light (superluminal or supercausal) travel and communication are the conjectural propagation of matter or information faster than the speed of light in vacuum (c). The special theory of relativity implies that only particles with zero rest mass (i.e., photons) may travel at the speed of light, and that nothing may travel faster.

Particles whose speed exceeds that of light (tachyons) have been hypothesized, but their existence would violate causality and would imply time travel. The scientific consensus is that they do not exist.

The Michelson interferometer is a common configuration for optical interferometry and was invented by the American physicist Albert Abraham Michelson in 1887. Using a beam splitter, a light source is split into two arms. Each of those light beams is reflected back toward the beamsplitter which then combines their amplitudes using the superposition principle. The resulting interference pattern that is not directed back toward the source is typically directed to some type of photoelectric detector or camera. For different applications of the interferometer, the two light paths can be with different lengths or incorporate optical elements or even materials under test.

The Michelson interferometer is employed in many scientific experiments and became well known for its use by Michelson and Edward Morley in the famous Michelson–Morley experiment (1887) in a configuration which would have detected the Earth's motion through the supposed luminiferous aether that most physicists at the time believed was the medium in which light waves propagated. The null result of that experiment essentially disproved the existence of such an aether, leading eventually to the special theory of relativity and the revolution in physics at the beginning of the twentieth century. In 2015, another application of the Michelson interferometer, LIGO, made the first direct observation of gravitational waves. That observation confirmed an important prediction of general relativity, validating the theory's prediction of space-time distortion in the context of large scale cosmic events (known as strong field tests).

The annus mirabilis papers (from Latin: annus mirabilis, lit. 'miraculous year') are four papers that Albert Einstein published in the scientific journal Annalen der Physik (Annals of Physics) in 1905. As major contributions to the foundation of modern physics, these scientific publications were the ones for which he gained fame among physicists. They revolutionized science's understanding of the fundamental concepts of space, time, mass, and energy.

1. The first paper explained the photoelectric effect, which established the energy of the light quanta ${\displaystyle E=hf}$, and was the only specific discovery mentioned in the citation awarding Einstein the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics.
2. The second paper explained Brownian motion, which established the Einstein relation ${\displaystyle D=\mu \,k_{\text{B}}T}$ and compelled physicists to accept the existence of atoms.
3. The third paper introduced Einstein's special theory of relativity, which proclaims the constancy of the speed of light ${\displaystyle c}$ and derives the Lorentz transformations. Einstein also examined relativistic aberration and the transverse Doppler effect.
4. The fourth, a consequence of special relativity, developed the principle of mass–energy equivalence, expressed in the equation ${\displaystyle E=mc^{2}}$ and which led to the discovery and use of nuclear power decades later.

These four papers, together with quantum mechanics and Einstein's later general theory of relativity, are the foundation of modern physics.

Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (/ˈlɔːrənts, ˈloʊr-, ˈloʊrɛnts/ LAWR-uhnts, LOHR-, LOH-rents; Dutch: [ˈɦɛndrɪk ˈɑntoːn ˈloːrɛnts]; 18 July 1853 – 4 February 1928) was a Dutch theoretical physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Pieter Zeeman for their discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman effect. He derived the Lorentz transformation of the special theory of relativity, as well as the Lorentz force, which describes the force acting on a charged particle in an electromagnetic field. He was also responsible for the Lorentz oscillator model, a classical model used to describe the anomalous dispersion observed in dielectric materials when the driving frequency of the electric field was near the resonant frequency of the material, resulting in abnormal refractive indices.

Lorentz received many other honors and distinctions, including a term as Chairman of the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, the forerunner of UNESCO, from 1925 until his death in 1928.

George Francis FitzGerald (3 August 1851 – 21 February 1901) was an Irish theoretical physicist known for hypothesising length contraction, which became an integral part of Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity.