Einstein's General and Special Theory of Relativity: How It All Works
Albert Einstein revolutionized science with his theory of relativity. These theories are important for everything from your car's GPS to the International Space Station, but without some outside help they are often difficult to understand. This guide gives you an overview of both Einstein's general and special theories of relativity, explaining how they work and how they can change our perception of the universe and space-time forever.
Introduction to Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who created what would be known as the special theory of relativity and contributed to quantum theory, statistical mechanics and cosmology. He is often regarded as one of the most intelligent men in history; If you really want to understand how smart he was, consider that he got his PhD when he was just 24 years old.
What is the speed of light?
The speed of light is a universal constant, which is 299,792,458 meters per second. It is about 186,282 miles per second. For general relativity you probably don’t have to convert it to anything else - the whole thing is based on thinking about how objects move at speeds close to light. The speed of light may vary depending on your position in space; If you move towards or away from it depending on its source, your own movement affects its speed.
The theory of general relativity
The general theory of relativity explains that matter affects spacetime, which is simply a combination of time and space. If you've been a fan of Star Trek, you've probably heard the characters refer to warping spaces. This is basically what Einstein was talking about with his theory. Everything in our universe bends space-time or pulls it for a journey. The more objects there are, such as stars or planets, the greater their impact on space-time যা which directly affects how objects in that area move. For example, if two planets come close to each other, they will start to orbit each other without just floating around until they crash into something else.
Modeling gravity with geometry
In general relativity, gravity is considered a curvature of spacetime. This means that if you are on a curved surface (like a ball) and someone gives you a push, you will lower that surface. If your ball were perfectly round (and therefore perfectly symmetrical), you would rotate at exactly the same speed, no matter which way you rotate - left or right, up or down. It's kind of weird because your trajectory doesn't depend on where you started-it's not true for surfaces that we're used to dealing with in our daily lives like flat sheets or tubes! However, if spacetime is curved, what happens?
The role of gravity in our universe
Before we get into Einstein's theory of relativity, it's worth taking a step back to talk about gravity. Gravity orbits the earth around our sun. Energy keeps your feet on the earth and is actually one of the four basic energies of nature; Including electromagnetism, weak nuclear interactions, and strong nuclear interactions. These forces combine to create everything in existence, from atoms to galaxies. There will be nothing without them as they control how the particles interact with each other. Gravity is what causes things to fall to Earth here, as well as objects like planets, stars, black holes, etc.
Time extension
Traveling around a huge object at high speeds can have some strange effects. To make things easier, scientists often use two imaginary clocks to explain how time extension works. First, watch A (also known as an inertia reference frame) that represents you, or someone standing still. Clock B (an observer or moving reference frame) represents someone moving at a constant speed through space relative to clock A.
Curvature of spacetime
Spacetime is curved by gravity. Indeed, in Einstein's general theory of relativity, we perceive the curvature of spacetime as gravity. Carving spacetime means that a vacuum is not really empty - instead, it contains a quantity of energy called mass-energy. If you place matter in that vacuum (e.g., a planet or star), it also changes the curvature of spacetime around it. When you stand on the surface of the earth, for example, you are not only feeling its mass but also its effect on space-time - for example, gravity.
Black hole
They say that nothing, not even light, can avoid a black hole. For all intents and purposes, this is a huge exaggeration, but it also hints at what makes these heavenly objects so attractive. Black holes have gained notoriety in pop culture because of their role in the biggest stories in science fiction. In fact, there is something inherently tempting about black holes, many people want to know more about them. But why are black holes so interesting? There are actually several reasons for their popularity among curious space observers. Let's take a look at some of the reasons here! Know more...
The principle of equality
This policy states that there is no test that you can perform on a local object that will determine if it is running. In other words, no matter how fast you move, an object should behave as if it were stationary. For example, if you jump off a cliff holding a rock, your rock will relatively fall to Earth at a speed of 9.8 meters per second - whether it actually fell due to gravity or was fixed by you (observer)) and if you really Floating in space with rocks when you see another fall to Earth from a distance? He will move at a speed of 9.8 meters per second based on your single observation.