Einstein’s theory as a hypothesis with its postulates. How has our understanding of time been influenced by the discovery of the constancy of the speed of light.

Question

anonymous · Answer

Are you familiar with the Lorenz transformations?

anonymous · Answer

With the postulate that (1) the speed of light is constant and (2) physics is the same in all inertial ref frames, you can prove that $t=\gamma (t' + v x/c^2)$, which specifically shows time dilation.

anonymous · Answer

It's also important that you clarify *which* theory of Einstein's you are talking about. The one I referenced before was his special theory of relativity. His general theory of relativity introduces the postulate that physics is the same in ALL ref frames, so we cannot differentiate between inertial and gravitational acceleration, which changed our concept of time again as something fundamentally intertwined with the gravitational field (specifically, the stress-energy tensor)