Principle of relativity, Principle of relativity - Galilean relativity, Principle of relativity - General relativity, Principle of relativity - Special relativity
ARTICLES RELATED TO Principle of relativity - Galilean relativity
Historically, the first principle of relativity that was formulated was a principle of relativity of uniform motion suggested by the observation that there doesn't seem to be a phenomenon in dynamics that will allow an observer to establish a zero point of velocity, nor a preferred direction.
Every choice of a zero point of velocity, a choice necessary in order to perform a calculation, constitutes a choice of reference frame. All reference frames that move with respect to each other with constant velocity and in a straight lin ...
Galileo's principle of relativity said that every choice of a zero point of velocity, a choice necessary in order to perform a calculation, constitutes a choice of reference frame. All reference frames that move with respect to each other with constant velocity and in a straight line are called inertial (or non accelerating) reference frames. The circularity of this definition is a necessity, since no preferred inertial reference frame is proposed.
In Galilean relativity, reference frames are related to each other in an intuitive way: ...
When accelerated motion is involved, there are phenomena that will allow an observer to establish a zero point, there are phenomena that determine a preferred reference frame. For example the case of rotation: the astronomer Schwarzschild had noted that in the solar system the lines connecting the aphelia and perihelia of the planets do not rotate with respect to each other and with respect to the background of the fixed stars (apart from an unexplained precession of the perihelion of Mercury). Also it could be seen from astronomical observa ...
