Length contraction, according to the special theory of relativity, which was formulated in the early twentieth century through the seminal work of
Einstein,
Poincaré and
Lorentz, is the physical phenomenon of a decrease in
length detected by an observer in objects that travel at any non-zero velocity relative to that observer. These contractions (more formally called
Fitzgerald-Lorentz contractions or Lorentz-
Fitzgerald contractions) only become noticeable, however, at substantial fractions of the
speed of light; and the contraction is only in the direction parallel to the direction in which the observed body is travelling.
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A peculiar effect which is observed from an object travelling at relativistic speed. This effect was predicted by Einstein's theory of
special relativity. An example: from a spacecraft, travelling at close to the
speed of light, the lengths of objects in the outside universe appear to contract. The length of the spacecraft also appears to contract when observed from the outside universe. See also
time dilation,
mass dilation.
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