Special Relativity Lecture Notes

Special Relativity Practice Problems

Welcome to the Special Relativity Homepage at the Department of Physics, College of Science, Virginia Tech. This site is based on a series of lectures I give as part of the course Physics 2074 "Highlights on Contemporary Physics" every fall semester. I have attempted to explain Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity using as few equations as possible, and have based most of my explanations on pictures called spacetime diagrams. Regardless of whether you are comfortable with equations or not, I believe the spacetime diagram approach is the best way to understand relativity. The first link above will take you to my lecture notes and the second link will take you to the problems I have used for my exams in Physics 2074. I have strived to make the problems as entertaining as possible. I hope you enjoy them. This site undergoes occasional updates with new figures, pages, and problems. Please check back every now and then to see if anything has changed. My last update was on September 17, 2006. Tatsu Takeuchi