ABSTRACT

Relativity theory abolishes the notion of absolute time and space. An event, specified by a location in space and an instant in time, is described differently by different RFs. For example, an observer on a train may say “Firecracker A, located in front of the train exploded at noon on 1, January 2003.” The same event may be described by the observer on the platform as “Firecracker A, exploded at 1:00 pm on 1, January 2003 while passing the edge of the platform.” The task of this chapter is to give geometrical meaning to events and relate the coordinates of the same event as measured by different observers.