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How did Lorentz transformations replace Galilean transformations?

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Brian Greene sits in a living room, holding a pen, with handwritten equations m = E/c^2 and E = mc^2 on a whiteboard beside him, highlighting c^2 as the speed of light. — relativity Brian Greene kicking off his *Your Daily Equation* video series with Albert Einstein's famous equation E = mc².

The transition from Galilean to Lorentz transformations was necessitated by the conflict between classical mechanics and the observed behavior of light.

The Limitation of Galilean Transformations

Galilean transformations were based on the assumption that space and time are absolute and independent of an observer's motion. In this framework, the velocity of light would necessarily change depending on the observer's inertial frame, a conclusion that contradicted experimental evidence, such as the Michelson-Morley experiment.123

The Shift to Lorentz Transformations

Albert Einstein resolved this anomaly by insisting that the speed of light in a vacuum is constant for all observers, regardless of their motion. To maintain this principle, he rejected the Galilean assumption of absolute time and replaced it with Lorentz transformations.432

Unlike their predecessors, Lorentz transformations demonstrate that:
* Space and time are not absolute.4
* Length, time, and mass are dependent on the observer's relative motion.4
* The laws of physics are invariant under Lorentz, rather than Galilean, transformations.3

This shift fundamentally redefined space and time as components of a single geometrical structure known as space-time.3