People
Pythagoras
Euclid
Galileo
Newton
Michelson
Lorentz
Minkowski
Einstein
People
This is an introduction to some of the people, and their ideas, that have contributed to our understanding of space and time. It starts around 500 bc, with Pythagoras. His contribution was the theorem that is attributed to him. Next is Euclid who, between 300 bc and 200 bc, collated and unified geometry. From this the concept of Euclidean space is derived.
In 1632, Galileo described the concept of relativity. Then in 1687 Newton described the law of gravity and the laws of motion. Together these form the foundations of classical mechanics.
In 1887 Michelson showed that the velocity of light is constant. Then in 1892 Lorentz provided the first widely accepted explanation of the behaviour of light. His explanation was later superseded, but his enduring legacy is the Lorentz transformation.
In 1908 Minkowski was the first man to suggest that space and time are combined in a four dimensional spacetime continuum. Lastly there is Einstein himself. In 1905, aged 26, Einstein published the original Theory of Relativity, which is now known as the Special Theory of Relativity. In 1915 Einstein published the General Theory of Relativity.
