Table of Contents
How does General Relativity explain gravity?
GETTING A GRIP ON GRAVITY Einstein’s general theory of relativity explains gravity as a distortion of space (or more precisely, spacetime) caused by the presence of matter or energy. A massive object generates a gravitational field by warping the geometry of the surrounding spacetime.
Does gravity exist in general relativity?
Gravity is most accurately described by the general theory of relativity (proposed by Albert Einstein in 1915), which describes gravity not as a force, but as a consequence of masses moving along geodesic lines in a curved spacetime caused by the uneven distribution of mass.
What happens to the motion of an object according to the special theory of relativity it will?
According to special theory of relativity, when an object is moving towards an observer with speed near to the speed of light, it gets contracted.
Why is general relativity so important to the modern development of physics?
General relativity is the cornerstone of modern cosmology, which describes the physical history of the universe; the physics of neutron stars and black holes; the generation of gravitational waves; and countless other cosmic phenomena in which gravitation – weak-field and strong-field – is believed to play a dominant …
What is Einstein’s general theory of relativity?
Albert Einstein settled on his ‘general’ theory in 1915, a decade after he came up with a ‘special’ theory of relativity that applied a universal speed of light to the assumption that the laws of physics stay the same inside any given frame of reference.
What is the relationship between space and gravity?
Special relativity argued that space and time are inextricably connected, but that theory didn’t acknowledge the existence of gravity. Einstein spent the decade between the two publications determining that particularly massive objects warp the fabric of space-time, a distortion that manifests as gravity, according to NASA.
Is general relativity better than Newtonian gravity?
During that period, general relativity remained something of a curiosity among physical theories. It was clearly superior to Newtonian gravity, being consistent with special relativity and accounting for several effects unexplained by the Newtonian theory.
Are the predictions of general relativity in relation to classical physics?
The predictions of general relativity in relation to classical physics have been confirmed in all observations and experiments to date. Although general relativity is not the only relativistic theory of gravity, it is the simplest theory that is consistent with experimental data.