Lorentz transformation

The [group transformation]? known as the Lorentz transformation, after physicist [H. A. Lorentz]?.

The Lorentz transformation, as a set of equations governing two [reference frame]?s in space-time, S and S', with S' traveling at a relative speed of u to S; an event has space-time coordinates of (x,y,z,t) in S and (x',y',z',t') in S':

x' = γ(x - ut)

y' = y

z' = z

t' = γ(t - ux)

where

γ = 1/&sqrt;(1 - u²)

and units are chosen such that c= 1.

Lorentz invariance

Quantities which remain the same under Lorentz transforms are said to be Lorentz invariant. The space-time interval is a [Lorentz-invariant quantity]?.

History

Lorentz discovered in 1900 that the transformation preserved Maxwell's equations. Lorentz believed the luminiferous aether hypothesis; it was Albert Einstein who developed the theory of relativity to provide a proper foundation for its application.

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