What is relativity in simple terms?

What is relativity in simple terms?

Essentially, it’s a theory of gravity. The basic idea is that instead of being an invisible force that attracts objects to one another, gravity is a curving or warping of space. The more massive an object, the more it warps the space around it.

What is an example of relativity?

One example of relativity is to imagine two people on a train playing ping-pong. The train is traveling at around 30 m/s north. When the ball is hit back and forth between the two players, the ball appears to the players to move north at a speed of around 2 m/s and then south at the speed of 2 m/s.

Why is this theory called relativity?

Einstein’s theory gets its name because it describes how measurements of space and time differ for observers moving relative to one another.

What is the theory of relativity in one sentence?

According to the theory of general relativity, matter causes space to curve. It is posited that gravitation is not a force, as understood by Newtonian physics, but a curved field (an area of space under the influence of a force) in the space-time continuum that is actually created by the presence of mass.

How do you explain relativity to a child?

General relativity says that planets do the same thing to space-time. They actually bend space and time around themselves. That’s why things fall towards the ground. They’re falling towards the middle of the Earth because Earth is pulling space-time towards itself.

How is relativity used in everyday life?

GPS Navigators The Theory of Relativity, published by Einstein in 1915, explains why clocks on satellites are ahead of those on Earth by 38,000 nanoseconds. It doesn’t seem like much, but if these nanoseconds weren’t accounted for, GPS systems would be off by kilometers.

What are the three types of relativity?

Precession: Orbits precess in a way unexpected in Newton’s theory of gravity. (This has been observed in the orbit of Mercury and in binary pulsars). Light deflection: Rays of light bend in the presence of a gravitational field. Frame-dragging: Rotating masses “drag along” the spacetime around them.

What is relativity of reality?

Relativity theory demonstrates that reality at our highest-level of analysis is governed by relativism. The opposing forces of space and time interweave to comprise and give meaning to the largest and most dynamic system we know — our relational universe.

What are the two types of relativity?

The theory of relativity is traditionally broken into two parts, special and general relativity. Special relativity provides a framework for translating physical events and laws into forms appropriate for any inertial frame of reference. General relativity addresses the problem of accelerated motion and gravity.

How did Einstein know about relativity?

At the age of only 16, Einstein imagined himself standing in front of a plane mirror while he himself together with the mirror was being carried forward with the velocity of light. He asked himself the question whether he would be able to see his image in the mirror in such a situation.

What is a simple example of general relativity?

Light bends and changes its direction within the gravitational field. This change in direction is a change in velocity; therefore, light accelerates within the gravitational field. Specifically, light speed decreases in a gravitational field. General relativity accounts for the effect of gravity on light.

What is a simple example of general relativity?

Light bends and changes its direction within the gravitational field. This change in direction is a change in velocity; therefore, light accelerates within the gravitational field. Specifically, light speed decreases in a gravitational field. General relativity accounts for the effect of gravity on light.

What is another word for relativity?

What is another word for relativity?

theory of relativity	continuum theory
e=mc2	energy-matter relationship
general theory of relativity	principle of equivalence
principle of relativity	special theory of relativity