principle of relativity
- noun
- /ˈprɪnsəpəl əv rɪˈlætɪvɪti/
- Specialized
:
principio de relatividad
Examples
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Altogether, about a dozen separate sources of relativistic effects, exemplifying almost all of the fundamental principles of relativity, affect the GPS.
Academic text (1996) -
Einstein's principle of relativity explains that the laws of physics remain the same for observers in uniform motion.
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According to the principle of relativity, there is no preferred frame of reference for physical laws.
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The principle of relativity asserts that all inertial frames experience the same physical laws, regardless of their state of motion.
Synonyms
Rules of motion are the same in places moving at steady speed
Surface Forms
Morphology
principle + of + relativity
The noun phrase pattern 'principle of X' is fully compositional: 'principle' = foundational rule and 'relativity' = the theory about relative space/time, so the phrase denotes the basic law governing relativity. This straightforward noun+of construction is cross-linguistically common and predictable, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the overall meaning.
Etymology
Principle of relativity comes from a simple image: a principle is a rule and relativity is the idea that what you see can depend on the person looking. Imagine doing the same test inside a smoothly moving train and on the platform and getting the same result, so the phrase means the laws of physics are 'the same' for people 'moving at a steady speed'.
