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Special Relativity

TopicResources
Planning resources and teaching IdeasYes (16,4)
Michelson-Morley ExperimentYes (0,6)
Time dilationYes (0,1)
Useful Websites and SimulationsYes (0,8)

Planning Resources and Teaching Ideas

Resources prepared by Theo Hughes
Resources prepared by Keith Burrows
Resources prepared by others
Making Sense of Relativity 82.9 kB

Presentation by Ross Phillips, PLC at the 2008 Physics Teachers Conference

Einstein’s Relativity ‘thought experiments’ 710 kB pdf

Einstein’s Train and other ‘Gedanken’ experiments. A document describing thought experiments that can be used to illustrate the concepts of non-simultaneity and time dilation.

A8 Teaching Einstein’s Relativity in Unit 3 5.45 MB pptx

The powerpoint from the presentation by Jill Detez, PLC at 2017 Conference.

Photographing a relativistic metre stick 666 kB pdf

A pdf file of this article by Robert Gibbs, published in Am J Phys in 1980.

Relativity in the F-10 Curriculum

prof David Blair, Director of the Australian International Gravitational Research Centre and emeritus professor of physics at UWA, along with Magdalena Kersting have been active in this area for many years. These are some useful links.

Michelson-Morley Expt

CAASTRO in the Classroom

The ARC Centre of Excellence All Sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO) operated from 2011 to 2018. It produced a 25 page booklet of activities to support a video conference session on Special Relativity that was offered until 2018. There are a number of activities on the MM Experiment as well as a list of youtube videos. The 36 min video conference session from that time is available on their website.

Lesson Plan and Powerpoint for MM Experiment

This is a brief non-mathematical explanation of the experiment that also emphasises the importance of a null hypothesis, scientific rigour and the evolution of understanding of science over three centuries. There is also a positive comment in the review that mentions additional reading.

The Quest for Light’s Medium: Understanding the MM Experiment

Explanatory text supported by a 12 min Youtube video.

MM Simulation

This web page contains a simulation that recreates the Michelson-Morley experiment from Compadre. The main objective of this experiment was to prove the existence of the medium in which light propagated: the luminiferous aether. This simulation allows the user to experiment with the interferometer by changing the speed of light and rotating its plane. It also has the possibility to include the aether. At the bottom of the page a link to the theory involved is provided.

Youtube video on MM Experiment A 7:30 min video.
Khan Academy Video on MM Experiment An 8:11 min video.

Time Dilation

Time Dilation

An applet by Walter Fendt. A spaceship is flying a distance of 5 light hours, e.g. from Earth to Pluto. The speed can be regulated with the upper buttons. The applet demonstrates that the clock in the spaceship goes more slowly than the two clocks of the system in which Earth and Pluto are motionless.

Useful Websites and Simulations

George Gamow’s Mr Tompkins in Wonderland First 8 pages only.
Einstein Light by Uni of NSW A very comprehensive website.
History of Physics: Einstein

The Centre for History of Physics page on Einstein set up by the American Institute of Physics. The website includes his chronology; articles on his physics, political life and home life; audio of his speech on energy-mass equivalence, his essay “the World as I see it”, as well as several articles by science historians.

Al’s Relativistic Adventures

A multimedia presentation by Kiran Sachdev that explains Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity to a general audience. It won the international Pirelli Relativity Challenge.

Animation Studies

Quicktime animation studies by the Physics Dept of New York University on Waves and Special relativity. The studies are simple and effective with clear explanations.

Physlet Quantum Physics 2nd Edition

Physlets is an interactive introduction to quantum physics. There are over 200 interactive materials covering special relativity, the need for a quantum theory, quantum theory and applications.

The Spacetime Emporium

A collection of information and resources for anyone interested in Einstein’s Special and General Theories of Relativity. There are materials for a wide audience, from the general science reader to specialists in spacetime physics.  There are sections on Galilean relativity, Special relativity, General relativity, Reference frames, Spacetime fundamentals, Maths, History and Beyond relativity.  Each section has a list of several links to articles and websites, which can be filtered by Year level and type of resource.

Ideas for Teaching relativity to high school kids

This is a question placed on Physics Forum. There is a large number of diverse responses, some of which may be nuggets for you.