KristenC

** Special Theory of Relativity ** “1.The speed of light is the same for all observers, no matter what their relative speed.  2. The laws of physics are the same in any inertial (that is, non-accelerated) frame of reference. This means that the laws of physics observed by a hypothetical observer traveling with a relativistic particle must be the same as those observed by an observer who is stationary in the laboratory” (Special Relativity).  The first discovery was made by Issac Newton. He stated that there is no "absolute rest" in the world. You can say that things are moving towards you, or away from you, but there is always a spinning motion in the world along an axis, in which all objects are revolving. However, looking at the sun's rays, Newton discovered that they are moving so fast that no matter what direction they are going in, or their relativity to other objects, their speed remains constant. Thus, "c" was the constant given to the speed at which light moves. This can help us calculate other moving objects by comparing the rate at which rays are moving by them, and the value of c. The second discovery states that even though there is no "absolute rest" in the world, a point of relativity has to be determined. Otherwise, there would be different measurements for time, space, and mass and we wouldn't know which one to go by. In order for this to be true, time and space must be scewed so that people standing at two different postitions can view the same object and calculate it's exact time and both end up with the same result. These results would only work with objects not affected by forces, but Einstein wanted to discover what would happen if forces were added.
 * [[image:zzzzzzzzzzzzz3333image.jpg caption="Albert Einstein (Arora)."]] Einstein was considered a mastermind during his time period. He made incredible achievements that will forever influence the way we look at math and physics. Although incredible, some of his findings seemed way too out there to be accepted by society at the time. A major theory of his, the theory of relativity, was first developed in 1905 and was thought to be one of his wackiest ideas yet. It took him more than ten years to finally pull all of his discoveries together, and he came up with two different theories of relativity. **



** General Theory of Relativity **  

Since all bodies at rest want to stay at rest, as discovered by Newton, Einstein wanted to know what would happen if you added forces, such as gravitational force, to moving bodies. He came up with the equivalence principle.

"The key idea of general relativity, called the equivalence principle, is that gravity pulling in one direction is completely equivalent to an acceleration in the opposite direction" (PBS).

For example, when you're sitting in a car and press the gas pedal, you feel yourself being pushed back against the seat with the same force. The same applies for planets. Since gravitational pull is the force that keeps Earth moving in a veering line around its axis, the sun. It is also what keeps the moon in line with the Earth. Because this path is in an arc shape, there must be such as thing as four-dimensional motion. Rays traveling close to the speed of light become bent when looking close to the sun. This is because a certain point in space with an ample amount of mass in it, such as the sun, becomes bent in the middle. THus, when light rays travel across it, they appear to become bent over the arc-shaped point in space. This was proven in one of Einstein's most famous experiements, which got then attention of many people that were critical of Einstein's thoughts. He concluded that space is in fact curved because of the four-part measurments taken into account when recording motion.

"Other striking consequences are associated with the dependence of space and time on velocity: at speeds near that of light, space itself becomes contracted in the direction of motion and the passage of time slows" (Gravitation and General Relativity). Einstein's discoveries conclude the idea that space is curved. Therefore, velocities and time must be scewed depending on the person's relativity to the object.

** Overall **  Einstein's theory of relativity is highly accepted as the proper therom in today's science world. Taking some of Newton's basic ideas, as well as thoughts from both Galileo and Aristotle, Einstein developed his own theorem that shocked the minds of physicists back in 1915. His wacky ideas proved to be correct in experiments performed then and now, and almost 100% of the time Einstein's discoveries and assumptions come out ot be facts. This is amazing, since his thoughts seemed to have little foundations; almost like he pulled them out of thin air. Because daily examples of objects at such a speed are hard to fathom, Einstein's complete thinking path can be hard to follow. However, based on experiments being done today,  __ [|see here for examples] __  , the two theories of relativity are considered to be the correct way to explain the motion of objects moving at speeds near the speed of light. I think the future holds even more research and experiments to be completed on this subject. Explanations like quantum physics have yet to be explained through the theory of relativity. Also black holes and the cosmological theory still need explanations, and physicists using the theory of relativity could undoubtedly come up with answeres in the near future. I think the future looks bright for more discoveries being made and other assumptions confirmed with the theory of relativity. With knowledge from Einstein and future physicists on the rise, I think we can look forward to new advancements in the science world.

 Arora, Hans. "Einstein’s Theory of Relativity: Implications Beyond Science? — Science in Society." __Home — Science in Society__. 20 Oct. 2008. 8 Feb. 2009 .  "Gravitation and the General Theory of Relativity." __Astronomy 162 Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmology__. 3 Feb. 2009 .  "NOVA | Einstein's Big Idea | Relativity (Lightman Essay) | PBS." __PBS__. 3 Feb. 2009 . <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> "Short Words to Explain Relativity." __Welcome to Muppetlabs__. 8 Feb. 2009 <http://www.muppetlabs.com/~breadbox/txt/al.html>. <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"> "Theory: Special Relativity (SLAC VVC)." __Stanford University__. 3 Feb. 2009 <www2.slac.stanford.edu/vvc/theory/relativity.html>.
 * Works Cited**
 * ~This website is written my a college student at Northwestern University. It disscusses the theory of relativity and helps explain it. It also relates this topic to Einstein's other theories, such as E=mc2. This site is credible because it is written by a college student and advised by college researchers. It is written to inform the public about science issues and new research going on in the science world.**
 * ~I chose this website because it clarifys the distinct difference between the special and general theories of relativity. It provides example situations and also gives ways you can test for the theory of relativity. This website is credible because it gives links to other pages that give more information on each theory. It confirms ideas given in other sources about the theories and how Einstein came about them with the help of Newton's laws.**
 * ~This website gives a new look at relativity, specifically general relativity. It gives everyday examples to help simplify the meanings of the theories. The website also lists his other predictions, such as black holes, and why the theories are so important. This is a credible site because it was created by PBS. It supports information that is already known and gives ample support to new information while describing why this theory is so important and crucial to other scientific discoveries.**
 * ~This website is a short explanation of the theory of relativity. It uses everyday examples to help simplify Einstein's discoveries and teach them to students. It also explains how Einstein derived his theories from both Newton and Aristotle's concepts. This website is credible because it helps explain already proven theories. It also tells why this theory can be applicable to everyday life and why it is the correct theory of relativity.**
 * ~This website is designed as an overview of Special Relativity. It relates the theory of relativity to other discoveries made by Newton, and also other theories created by Einstein. It gives general information, while aslo going into detail about the subject. I chose this website because it is easy to understand and credible by the U.S. Department of Energy. It also gives support on other topic related to the theory of relativity that help give more evidence to Einstein's claims, and matches information given by other websites.**