Lorentz transformation
Noun
Meaning
Lorentz transformation (plural Lorentz transformations)
(mathematics, relativity) A transformation relating the spacetime coordinates of one frame of reference to another in special relativity.
Related terms
Examples
Boosts and rotations themselves are Lorentz transformations since each operation leaves the spacetime interval invariant, and the composition of any two is also a Lorentz transformation.
Classification of the homogeneous Lorentz group From the invariance of the spacetime interval it follows immediately : and this matrix equation contains the general conditions on the Lorentz transformation to ensure invariance of the spacetime interval.
For Einstein, the Lorentz transformation implied a conceptual change: that the concept of position in space or time was not absolute, but could differ depending on the observer's location and velocity.
For example, Newtonian dynamics (which is based on Galilean transformations) is the low speed limit of special relativity (since the Galilean transformation is the low-speed approximation to the Lorentz transformation).
For two or more consecutive boosts that are not collinear but in different directions, the result is still a Lorentz transformation, but not a single boost.
It may include a rotation of space; a rotation-free Lorentz transformation is called a Lorentz boost.