Relativity theory (both special and general theories together) is considered to be one of the greatest intellectual marvels ever discovered by human. So to me no surprise why it is very hard to "really" understand and comprehend "Relativity theory". While special theory of relativity deals with the objects there are moving at constant speed (i.e., inertial motion only), general theory of relativity explores the difficult accelerating motions.
So, if you take long time to understand relativity theory, no worries. Just take a challenge and try to understand a little further.
OK. Before going to "What is" question, let us answer the question "Why".
When relativity is becomes important?
"Special relativity applies to situations where objects are moving very quickly, at speeds near the speed of light. Generally, one should account for relativistic effects when speeds are higher than 1/10th of the speed of light".
In graphene, relativistic effects are important because, the speed of electrons in graphene is of the order of c/300 (for reference see here)
Here is a list of questions you need Relativity to understand.
References
- Special Relativity (see link: http://physics.bu.edu/py106/notes/Relativity.html)
- Graphene: The running of the constants (http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v7/n9/full/nphys2066.html?message-global=remove)
Some other reading materials
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