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Chapter 1 - Special relativity and Minkowski spacetime

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2025

Justin Corvino  and
Pengzi Miao
Justin Corvino
Affiliation:
Lafayette College, Pennsylvania
Pengzi Miao
Affiliation:
University of Miami
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Summary

Minkowskian geometry provides a mathematical model of spacetime that resolves a number of perplexing issues that had arisen in physics by the dawn of the twentieth century. The model leads to surprising predictions for physics, which have been confirmed experimentally. In the chapter we review several well-known features of Minkowski spacetime, including Lorentz transformations, time dilation and Lorentz contraction, as well as its conformal compactification.

Keywords

special relativityMinkowski spacetimeLorentz transformationstime dilationLorentz contraction
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Chapter
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Lectures on Mathematical Relativity , pp. 1 - 46
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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