Lorentz Transformations
PHYS 401 · Module 3
This module develops the mathematical transformations connecting inertial frames in special relativity. Students derive the Lorentz transformation, study relativistic velocity addition, and learn invariant spacetime intervals and light cones.
Lessons in this module
Deriving the Lorentz transformation
The Lorentz transformation replaces the Galilean transformation at high speeds. This lesson derives its form and explains how it preserves the speed of light.
Velocity addition
Relativistic velocity addition replaces the classical rule $u'=u-v$. This lesson derives the formula and shows why no combination of sub-light speeds exceeds light speed.
The invariant spacetime interval
The spacetime interval is the quantity all inertial observers agree on. This lesson introduces timelike, spacelike, and lightlike separations and explains why the interval replaces absolute space and time.
The light cone
The light cone separates events that can be causally connected from those that cannot. This lesson explains future, past, and elsewhere regions of spacetime.
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