Relativity is a theory in physics that can be basically implies that space and time are one in the same. This is absolutely counterintuitive to classical physics which has the two as completely different entities. Relativity can be separated into two basic concepts: Special and General Relativity. Within Relativity the fundamental concept above all else is that space and time are intertwined with each other in the universe as a fabric called space-time. Simply put, Special Relativity deals with the laws of Physics when observers are all moving uniformly relative to each other while General Relativity expands on the idea to include gravitation and acceleration. (Lieber, Lillian R. The Einstein Theory of Relativity. Philadelphia: Paul Dry, 2008. Print. p.95-99)
Einstein’s theory of Special Relativity can be broken into two parts: first, it dictates that the laws of physics are true no matter what reference point you are looking from and secondly the speed of light is constant no matter what reference point you measure it from. This first postulate of Einstein’s theory basically means that the laws of physics do not change depending on the reference point from which they are observed. For example, if you measure how long an object is it will be the same length whether you are flying in an airplane or you are stationary. (http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/relativity6.htm) The reason why the speed of light is constant is actually quite simple. Picture two cars, traveling in the same direction at the same rate, Car A’s driver has a slingshot while Car B’s driver has a laser pointer. At the exact same instant both fire in the direction of travel. If you were to measure the speed of the projectile that wa...
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...ein’s Theory of Relativity radically altered our perspective of the universe. It profoundly impacted the scientific community and has had an everlasting effect on science itself. All of the properties of his theories define and shape the world around us and without them we would have a negligible understanding of our universe. Albert Einstein once said “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” This is exactly what he did when the first thoughts of Relativity popped into his head in a patent office in Switzerland so many years ago.
Works Cited
Lieber, Lillian R. The Einstein Theory of Relativity. Philadelphia: Paul Dry, 2008. Print. Einstein, Albert, and Robert W. Lawson. Relativity; the Special and General Theory,. New York: H. Holt and, 1920. 21-25. Print
Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity has had a colossal impact on the world and is the accepted physical theory reg...
What is time? Is time travel possible? When nothing is changing does time still exits ? Is that really true? Are you real? Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that is significant to us when questions and other clams bring curiosity about whether things are real or not.
Through all the impacts of Einstein’s relativity on our modern lives, techniques and even our minds discussed above, so we can see how important Einstein’s relativity is to us and how much we have gained. And the great ideas from it will continuously challenge human mind and the arguments around it shall improve our science.
ABSTRACT: The general theory of relativity and field theory of matter generate an interesting ontology of space-time and, generally, of nature. It is a monistic, anti-atomistic and geometrized ontology — in which the substance is the metric field — to which all physical events are reducible. Such ontology refers to the Cartesian definition of corporeality and to Plato's ontology of nature presented in the Timaeus. This ontology provides a solution to the dispute between Clark and Leibniz on the issue of the ontological independence of space-time from distribution of events. However, mathematical models of space-time in physics do not solve the problem of the difference between time and space dimensions (invariance of equations with regard to the inversion of time arrow). Recent research on space-time singularities and asymmetrical in time quantum theory of gravitation will perhaps allow for the solution of this problem based on the structure of space-time and not merely on thermodynamics.
What was General Relativity? Einstein's earlier theory of time and space, Special Relativity, proposed that distance and time are not absolute. The ticking rate of a clock depends on the motion of the observer of that clock; likewise for the length of a "yard stick." Published in 1915, General Relativity proposed that gravity, as well as motion, can affect the intervals of time and of space.
The Theory of Relativity, proposed by the Jewish physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955) in the early part of the 20th century, is one of the most significant scientific advances of our time. Although the concept of relativity was not introduced by Einstein, his major contribution was the recognition that the speed of light in a vacuum is constant and an absolute physical boundary for motion. This does not have a major impact on a person's day-to-day life since we travel at speeds much slower than light speed. For objects travelling near light speed, however, the theory of relativity states that objects will move slower and shorten in length from the point of view of an observer on Earth. Einstein also
Space and time are directly woven together and without the existence of one, the other doesn’t have meaning. They cannot exist without eachother. This dependence on each other is known as the Space-Time Continuum.
Many scholars, researchers, and scientist claim that the greatest discovery in mankind’s history was actually made by Professor Albert Einstein and is called the “Theory of Relativity.” The reason they say this is that by being able to explain and understand how everything relates to everything else is the key to advancing or evolving our knowledge about everything. In other words if we know how a starfish relates to a star, in theory we can know or cause to be known everything in-between. So the very evolution of knowledge is at stake, never mind the methodology that is used.
From this he concluded that light always travels at the speed of light. It never slows down. Einstein asked the question: "What happens if we chase after a beam of light, at light speed?" From reasoning based on Newton's laws of motion, one can assume that the light would appear stationary. But according to Maxwell's theory, light cannot be stationary. Einstein solved this problem through his special theory of relativity.
Severance, John B. Einstein: Visionary Scientist. New York: Clarion Books, 1999. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 14 Apr. 2014
Miller, A. (1975) Albert Einstein and Max Wertheimer: a Gestalt psychologist's view of the genesis of special relativity theory. History of science; an Annual Review of Literature, Research and Teaching 13 (2): 75–103.
White, Michael and Gribbin, John. Einstein: A Life in Science. Amazon.com: Editorial Review: Kirkus Review. 30 Oct. 2003 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos.
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Masters, Barry R. "Albert Einstein and the Nature of Light." 2010. Optics and Photonics News. The Optical Society. Article. 31 March 2014. .
The theory of Special Relativity, written by Albert Einstein in 1905, describes the laws of motion at velocities close to and at the speed of light. It was written to make the laws of motion consistent with the laws of electromagnetism. Special relativity makes two postulates: the laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers and the speed of light in a vacuum is constant, regardless of motion. One of the consequences of these postulates is that clocks run slower to an observer in motion, or time slows down. Special relativity also states that objects at high speeds always appear shorter in the direction of motion than they do at rest. However, length measurements transverse to the direction of motion are unaffected. Velocity addition is different for special relativity than for classical mechanics because according to special relativity, nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. Also, in order to retain the conservation of momentum as a general law consistent with Einstein's first postulate, a new definition of momentum must be used at relativistic velocities. The twin paradox is the famous example that uses time dilation and length contraction. Special relativity is not contradictory with classical mechanics because at low speeds, all of the laws of special relativity reduce to the laws of classical mechanics.