Abstract
The Special Theory of Relativity describes the physical laws that are valid in inertial frames of reference, i.e. frames of reference in which Newton’s first law holds. Classical Mechanics deals mostly with inertial frames of reference. In these frames, a body on which the total external force applied is equal to zero is either stationary or moves with constant speed.
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For a good introduction to the subject of fictitious forces and non-inertial frames of reference, see e.g. C. Kittel, W.D. Knight, M.A. Ruderman, A.C. Helmholz, B.J. Moyer, Mechanics (Berkeley Physics Course, vol. 1), (McGraw-Hill Book Company, 2nd ed., 1973), Chap. 4. For a more advanced analysis see e.g. K.R. Symon, Mechanics (Addison-Wesley, 3rd ed., 1971)
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Christodoulides, C. (2016). Prolegomena. In: The Special Theory of Relativity. Undergraduate Lecture Notes in Physics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25274-2_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25274-2_2
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