Category Archives: Intro to Relativity

Maxwell’s theory of electromagnetism contains 4 equations not required by IB. Definition: An invariant quantity or property of a system remains unchanged as the system undergoes transformations. One of the important conclusions of Maxwell’s theory of electromagnetism is that the speed of light is invariant in vacuum. This also means that the value for c […]

Spacetime coordinates in one IRF can be used to calculate spacetime coordinates in another IRF, when given the relative velocity of IRF2 to IRF1. One can use the vector displacement method to write Galilean coordinate transformation equations, simplified to one dimension and uniform relative velocity. For example, for two different coordinate systems and , the […]

To understand relativity, one must first understand reference frames. All measurements in physics are taken from the origin. 3D Cartesian coordinate space has axes at right angles to each other. There are many possible reference frames, and all measurements are made from a frame of reference. Inertial reference frames (IRF) are defined as having no […]