I never studied relativity formally (that course came after quantum mechanics, which is where I gave up on physics and shifted my major over to math), but there are plenty of good books on the subject.
Put time on the X axis and position on the Y axis. Motion at constant velocity is a straight line going up and to the right.
Now consider what things look like from the POV of the thing moving. *Their* X axis is the line you just drew, so their entire reference frame is just rotated counterclockwise from that of the observer at "rest".
The equations of special relativity's time dilation and Fitzgerald contraction are easily derived from the geometry (if time is imaginary and distance is measured in light-seconds).
no subject
Put time on the X axis and position on the Y axis. Motion at constant velocity is a straight line going up and to the right.
Now consider what things look like from the POV of the thing moving. *Their* X axis is the line you just drew, so their entire reference frame is just rotated counterclockwise from that of the observer at "rest".
The equations of special relativity's time dilation and Fitzgerald contraction are easily derived from the geometry (if time is imaginary and distance is measured in light-seconds).