special relativity

An illustration conveying the idea of a space-based quantum internet, which would seem, like the hypothetical particle of a tachyon, to outpace light.

Faster-Than-Light Particle Fits With Special Theory of Relativity, Physicists Say

Tachyons are a hypothetical particle generally thought to be incongruous with Einstein's theory.

Physics & Chemistry Isaac Schultz Jul 12

Extreme Experiment on Mexican Volcano Challenged the Speed of Light

New measurements from an experiment near the top of an extinct Mexican volcano have placed a stringent new limit on whether light can exceed the universe’s well-known top speed. Physicists have crafted theories that do a good job explaining much of the universe—but these theories fail when it comes to many of the extremes, such as…

Physics & Chemistry Ryan F. Mandelbaum Apr 2

Scientists Resolve Mysterious Violation to Einstein’s Relativity

Even if you don’t know much physics, you probably know one of its core tenets: an object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion. In fact, in a vacuum where there’s literally nothing to slow things down, things don’t prefer being at rest or in motion. This plays out…

Tech News Ryan F. Mandelbaum Sep 22

Why Astronaut Mark Kelly Is Now Even Older Than His Twin Brother

Astronaut Scott Kelly returned from a year-long sojourn in space in June. His slightly older astronaut twin, Mark Kelly, stayed home as a control—part of NASA’s twin study to monitor the effects of space on the human body. But there’s a physical change that NASA might not be able to measure that easily. Mark is…

Physics & Chemistry Jennifer Ouellette Aug 26

Get Pelted Every Day With Particles That Confirm Special Relativity

Go outside and you will be showered, every day, with proof of the theory of special relativity. This proof comes in the form of muons, so you won’t actually see it, but we’ll tell you why the presence of these particles proves Einstein right. The theory of special relativity isn’t controversial anymore. It’s no surprise…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Nov 4

What Time is It in the Universe?

Check your watch. What time is it? But wait, you’ve actually been moving and accelerating, and according to Einstein, everything’s relative. So what time is it really? It all depends… Flavor Flav knows what time it is. At least he does for Flavor Flav. Even with all his moving and accelerating, with the planet, the…

io9 Fraser Cain – Universe Today Aug 30

Read Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity for yourself

Although the major excitement today is focused on Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, his Special Theory of Relatively is a quick and fascinating read that changed the way we think about the universe.. https://gizmodo.com/do-yourself-a-favor-and-read-einsteins-paper-on-special-1545377104

Tech News Mika McKinnon Mar 17

Do yourself a favor and read Einstein’s paper on special relativity

One of the most famous concepts in science was introduced in a paper with the uninspiring title, “On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies.” A little reading can give you the basics of relativity, right from the source. In 1905 Albert Einstein rearranged the universe. That is well-known. What’s relatively unknown is the title of the…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Mar 17

Relativity goes underwater with Supplee’s Paradox

Too often relativity is confined to space ships and interplanetary travel. It’s time to dive and see what weird ideas relativity can bring to us from beneath the sea. Jim Supplee first thought up a novel spin on the weirdness of relativity when he was a graduate student, and came back to it years later…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell Sep 13

We just used the theory of relativity to discover a new planet

In a manner of speaking, Albert Einstein just helped an international team of astronomers find a hot Jupiter that’s 2,000 light-years away. It’s the first time in history that the theory of relativity was used to locate another planet. Normally, astronomers use the transit method to detect exoplanets, a technique that tells astronomers a planet…

io9 George Dvorsky May 14

It’s official: Neutrinos can’t go faster than the speed of light after all

Foolish humans. Such hubris to think that we could dethrone Einsteinian special relativity, by virtue of a single experiment. Now it’s official: the notion that neutrinos could travel faster than the speed of light really was the result of a “faulty kit”. We suspected that something was fishy back in February when OPERA physicists —…

io9 George Dvorsky Jun 8

How Einstein Came Up With Special Relativity

Time dilation. Length contraction. The fact that time moves faster at your face than it does at your feet. These are all experimentally verified consequences of the Special Theory of Relativity, proposed in 1905 by Albert Einstein. But the theory also helped explain one of the most nagging questions of modern physics, namely: how anything…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Mar 19

What would the world look like if you approached the speed of light?

This truly awesome video has the answers to that question. It imagines a trip down a desert highway at speeds approaching light, and then shows all the weird and wonderful optical effects the theory of special relativity says we’d experience. This video is the work of Antony Searle and Craig Savage, physicists at the Australian…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Oct 18

special relativity

Faster-Than-Light Particle Fits With Special Theory of Relativity, Physicists Say

Extreme Experiment on Mexican Volcano Challenged the Speed of Light

Scientists Resolve Mysterious Violation to Einstein’s Relativity

Why Astronaut Mark Kelly Is Now Even Older Than His Twin Brother

Get Pelted Every Day With Particles That Confirm Special Relativity

What Time is It in the Universe?

Read Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity for yourself

Do yourself a favor and read Einstein’s paper on special relativity

Relativity goes underwater with Supplee’s Paradox

We just used the theory of relativity to discover a new planet

It’s official: Neutrinos can’t go faster than the speed of light after all

How Einstein Came Up With Special Relativity

What would the world look like if you approached the speed of light?

Amazon Is Sticking With ‘Rings of Power’ to the End

Trump Is Reportedly Going Full Steam Ahead with the Golden Dome

‘Kamen Rider’ Is Ready to Take on the World

Twitter Just Can’t Stop Leaking Movies

The ‘Mass Effect’ Show is Getting Rewritten to Get Greenlit

See the Early Stages of How ‘Project Hail Mary’ Brought Rocky to Life

‘Cognitive Surrender’ Is a New and Useful Term for How AI Melts Brains

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Let us help find what you are looking for...