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Article: Relativity, Special Theory of
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- Encyclopedia of Science and Religion
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Relativity, Special Theory of
The Special Theory of Relativity describes the way in which an observer's experience of time and space is interrelated, while the General Theory of Relativity addresses the interrelationships among mass, space, gravity, and motion. Motivated by his concerns about problematic features of electro-magneticism
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especially the relationship between electric and magnetic fields
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Albert Einstein (1879
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1955) proposed the Special Theory of Relativity in 1905. However, since most of the character and consequences of Special Relativity can be more easily developed in the arena of kinematics (the description of motion), this entry will focus on ...