Special Relativity
The speed of light is the speed limit for the universe. Light travels at the same speed regardless of relative position. When applied to Newtonian physics, it provided new relativistic formulas for motion. 4
Quantum Theory
Hot objects emit electromagnetic radiation. If the energy carried off by radiation is added together, the total energy produced is calculated to be infinite. Max Planck deduced that if energy was emitted in discrete packets, quanta, it would be a finite quanity of energy. Radiation of frequency v comes in quanta of energy E = hv where h is Planck's constant . Photons are the quanta of light. This began the idea of wave-particle duality and quantum mechanics. 4
Quantum Mechanics
Explanation of atomic particles including bosons and fermions . Describes the laws of motion for atomic particles and describes the spin of electrons that had previously been predicted. 5
General Relativity
Einstein saw that special relativity was in contradiction with Newtonian gravity because the classical interpretation required the instantaneous transmission of force between two objects. General relativity accounts for a discrepancy in Mercury's orbit, predicted that light would be bent by a gravitational field (proved by Eddington during a solar eclipse), predicted the existence of black holes and gravitational radiation, and describes an expanding universe. "Gravity is a manifestation of the curvature of space-time." The equation for space-time geometry becomes Gµv = 8piGTµv where G is Newton's contant and Tµv is the distribution of energy and momentum. 4
Quantum Field Theory
Quantum Field Theory is the unification of quantum mechanics and special relativity. This union required the crea...
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...ic Yang-Mills theory" 6.
Works Cited
1 Greene, Brian. Superstring Theory. University of Cornell. Web site.
http://www.lassp.cornell.edu/GraduateAdmissions/greene/greene.html
2 Herdeiro, Carlos. M-Theory: The Theory Formerly Known as Strings. University of Cambridge, 1996. Web site.
http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/gr/public/qg_ss.html
3 Pierre, John. Superstrings! String Theory Home Page. 1999-2001. Web site.
http://www.sukidog.com/jpierre/strings/
4 Schwarz, John. The Second Superstring Revolution. Caltech Particle Theory Group. Web site.
http://theory.caltech.edu/people/jhs/strings/
5 Schwarz, Patricia. The Official String Theory Web Site. Web site.
http://superstringtheory.com/
6 String Theory in a Nutshell. University of London String Theory Group. Web site.
http://www.strings.ph.qmul.ac.uk/
The theory of relativity is the basic theory about space-time continuum and gravitation which was mainly established by the greatest theoretical physicist Albert Einstein. According to the areas it aims to describe, Einstein’s theory of relativity can be classified into special relativity (space-time) and general relativity (gravitation) 1. The theory of relativity, as do quantum mechanics, brought a revolutionary impact on the foundation of modern physics, and thus had an impact on modern technology. And it impacted the “common sense” understanding that people had of the universe by its new concepts such as four dimensional spaces and curved space.
In 1905, Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity was proposed. The reason that it is so "special" is because it was part of the more complex and extensive Theory of General Relativity, which was published in 1915. His theory reshaped the world of physics when it contradicted all previous laws of motion erected by Galileo and Newton. By mathematically manipulating these previous laws of motion, physicists in the nineteenth century were able to explain such phenomena as the flow of the ocean, the orbits of planets around the sun, the fall of rocks, and the random behavior of molecules in gases. At first, Einstein faced great opposition when he came up with his radical new theory because the previous laws of motion proposed by Galileo and expanded upon by Newton had remained valid for over two hundred years. However, it wouldn’t be long before the "cement" in the foundation of Newtonian and Galilean physics would begin to crumble.
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
Greene continues with his explanations of the special theory of relativity.Chapter 3: Of Warps and Ripples Green begins the chapter by describing "Newton's View of Gravity" and continues by discussing the incompatibility of Newtonian Gravity and Special Relativity. The author also talks about how Einstein discovered the link between acceleration and the warping of space and time. Greene also discuses the basic aspects of General Relativity. He later points out how the two theories of relativity effect black holes, the big bang, and the expansion of space.Chapter 4: Microscopic Weirdness This chapter describes, in detail, the workings of quantum mechanics.
In 1905, the great physicist, Albert Einstein, put forward a new theory called "The Special Theory of Relativity".
Twenties: Physics intends to inform the reader that Einstein was way ahead of his time with his theories of science and the use of mathematical equations. Also, his general theory of relativity is still used today to explain the relationship between mass and energy. Einstein's theory was initially thought to be incorrect, that there was no correlation between mass, gravity, and the speed of light. "Importantscientists.com" suggests that scientists criticized Einstein about his theory until the astronomer Arthur Eddington added his approach. "Despite the attempts by many scientists to disprove the General Theory of Relativity, the British Astronomer Arthur Eddington claimed to confirm Einstein's predictions." ("Importantscientists.com", Paragraph 11). It is obvious that Einstein's theory was not fully accepted until the famous astronomer Eddington supported Einstein's general theory of relativity. Also, "Importantscientists.com" stated "Einstein's fellow scientists then began speaking of general relativity as "probably the greatest scientific discovery ever made."" ("Importantscientists.com", Paragraph 11). In this quote, the reader can clearly see that once Einstein's theory was verified, it was then considered one of the best scientific discoveries of the
Einstein's relativity theory revolutionized scientific thought with new conceptions of time, space, mass, motion, and gravitation. He treated matter and energy as exchangeable, not distinct. In so doing, he laid the basis for controlling the release of energy from the atom.
...evealed as the “strong-force.” Further scientific exploration also allowed for satellites in space to verify the principles of Einstein’s scientific cosmology. As many years have passed, Albert Einstein’s work has become some of the most famous scientific theories ever proposed and will continue to lead many scientific experiments and discoveries for centuries to come.
The theory of quantum mechanics has divided the atom into a number of fundamental sub-atomic particles. Although the physicist has shown that the atom is not a solid indivisible object, he has not been able to find a particle which does possess those qualities. Talk of particles, though, is misleading because the word suggests a material object. This is not the intention for the use of the word in quantum physics. Quantum particles are, instead, representations of the actions and reactions of forces at the sub-atomic level. In fact, physicists are less concerned with the search for a material particle underlying all physical objects and more interested in explaining how nature works. Quantum theory is the means that enables the physicist to express those explanations in a scientific way.
Throughout Albert Einstein’s lifetime he accomplished many amazing things that have an effect on people today. For example, in 1905, “often called as Einstein’s “miracle year”, he published four papers in the Annalen der Physik, each of which would alter the course of modern physics” (Michio,Kaku 13). Throughout Einstein’s four books, he “applied the quantum theory to light in order to explain the photoelectric effect, offered the first experimental proof of the existence of atoms, laid out the mathematical theory of special relativity, and proved the first mechanism to explain the energy source of the Sun and other stars”(13). Throughout 1905-1915 Einstein began to realize that his theory for relativity was flawed, because “it made no mention of gravitation or acceleration” (19). “In November of 1915, Einstein finally completed the general theory of reality” (20); “in 1921 he won the Nobel Prize in Physics” (Belanger, Craig. 1).
The next big step in the discovery of the atom was the scientific test that proved the existence of the atom. After the discovery of the atom we had the discovery of subatomic particles. With the discovery of the subatomic particles came the research, which came from experiments that were made to find out more about the subatomic particles. This research is how we uncovered that most of the weight of an atom is from its nucleus. With the gold foil experiment, tested by Ernest Rutherford, he discovered the existence of the positively charged nucleus. He proved this when the experiment was happening, a small fraction of the photons th...
Energy is an odd concept, it is something that is neither here nor there yet has a profound impact on everything, both organic and inorganic. However, energy surrounds us in more ways than is commonly believed; it is possible that matter is only a form of energy. In fact, according to Albert Einstein, matter and energy are different forms of the same thing (“Do Antimatter and Matter Destroy Each Other?”). Through analyzing the superposition of bosons (particles without mass) and fermions (particles with mass), transformations between energy and matter, the creation of mass, and the mass of energy, the existence of what humans consider to be matter will be questioned.
In 1905, Albert Einstein wrote his paper on the special theory of relativity (Prosper). This theory has the reputation as being so exotic that few people can understand it. On the contrary, special relativity is simply a system of kinematics and dynamics, based on a set of postulates that is different from those of classical mec...
Superstring theory is an attempt by humans to model the four fundamental forces of physics as vibrations of tiny supersymmetric strings. Superstring theory seems the most likely to lead to theories of quantum gravity, an attempt to explain gravity’s relatively weak force when compared to the other forces of physics (“Quantum gravity”, nd). Superstring theory is also "supersymmetric string theory." It is referred to as this because unlike bosonic string theory, the original form of string theory (Bosonic string theory, nd), it is the version of the theory that incorporates fermions, particles that form totally antisymmetric composite quantum states (Fermions, nd), and supersymmetry, which link bosons and fermions (“Supersymmetry”, nd; “Superstring theory”, nd)