Space and Time. in Contemporary Physics. an Introduction to the Theory of Gravitation (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Space and Time in Contemporary Physics an Introduction to the Theory of GravitationProbably no physical theory in recent times has given rise to more discussion amongst philosophers than the principle of relativity. One school of thought agrees that physicists may well be led to recast their notions of space and time in the light of experimental results. Another school however is of opinion that these questions are no concern of the physicists who should make their theories fit the philosophers' conceptions of these fundamental units.The theory of relativity consists of two parts the old special theory and the more recent general theory.The main philosophic achievement of the special theory of relativity is probably the recognition that the description of an event which is admittedly only perfect if both the space and time co-ordinates are specified will vary according to the relative motion of the observer; that it is impossible to say for instance whether the interval se