Galilean invariance


Galilean invariance or Galilean relativity is a principle of relativity which states that the fundamental laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames. Galileo Galilei first described this principle in 1632 in his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems using the example of a ship traveling at constant speed, without rocking, on a smooth sea; any observer doing experiments below the deck would not be able to tell whether the ship was moving or stationary. Today one can make the same obervations while travelling in an airplane with constant velocity. The fact that the earth on which we stand orbits around the sun at approximately 30 km/s offers a somewhat more dramatic example.