Relativity
The Special and General Theory
XI
The Lorentz Transformation
THE results of the last three sections show that the apparent incompatibility of the law of propagation of light with the principle of relativity (Section VII) has been derived by means of a consideration which borrowed two unjustifiable hypotheses from classical mechanics; these are as follows:
(1) The time-interval (time) between two events is independent of the condition of motion of the body of reference.
(2) The space-interval (distance) between two points of a rigid body is independent of the condition of motion of the body of reference.
If we drop these hypotheses, then the dilemma of Section VII disappears, because the theorem of the addition of velocities derived in Section VI becomes invalid. The possibility presents itself that the law of the propagation of light in vacuo may be compatible with the principle of relativity, and the question arises: How have we to modify the considerations of Section VI in order to remove the apparent disagreement between these two fundamental results of experience? This question leads to a general one. In the discussion of
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