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Nature 450, 801-803 (6 December 2007) | doi:10.1038/450801a; Published online 5 December 2007

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Relativity: Still special

Giovanni Amelino-Camelia1

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Is special relativity a clapped-out classical theory, to be replaced by a shiny new quantum model as soon as possible? On the contrary, it would seem: the theory still has a youthful ability to surprise us.

Since Albert Einstein introduced it to the world in 1905, the special theory of relativity has embodied the journey of modern physics from an 'intuitive' description of the world to a deeper level of understanding — an understanding at first profoundly baffling to established ways of thinking. Concepts such as the equivalence of mass and energy, embodied by the formula E = mc2; the existence of an unbreakable speed barrier, the speed of light in vacuo, c; and the paradox of two twins who, by dint of experiencing different accelerations through space, can age by different amounts, have all stamped themselves on the public's consciousness (Fig. 1

  1. Giovanni Amelino-Camelia is in the Department of Physics, Università di Roma La Sapienza, and the Sezione Roma 1, INFN, Piazzale Moro 2, Rome 00185, Italy.
    Email: giovanni.amelino-camelia@roma1.infn.it

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