RELATIVITY

• Relativity


  Theory developed by Albert Einstein that revolutionized our understanding of space, time, and gravity
• Special Relativity


  • Proposed by Einstein in 1905, deals with the behavior of objects moving at constant speeds relative to each other, particularly in the absence of gravitational forces
  • Introduced concepts like the Principle of Relativity, Speed of Light, Time Dilation, Length Contraction, Mass-Energy Equivalence

  
• General Relativity


  • Published by Einstein in 1915, extends the principles of special relativity to include the effects of gravity
  • Describes gravity as the curvature of spacetime caused by the presence of mass and energy
  • Key concepts include Spacetime Curvature, Geodesics, Gravitational Time Dilation, Gravitational Waves, Black Holes

  
• Principle of Relativity


  The laws of physics are the same in all inertial reference frames
• Speed of Light


  Considered constant and the same for all observers, regardless of their relative motion

  
• Time Dilation


  Time can appear to pass differently for different observers depending on their relative motion

  
• Length Contraction


  When an object is in motion relative to an observer, its length appears shorter in the direction of motion
• Mass-Energy Equivalence


  Mass and energy are different forms of the same physical entity and can be interconverted, as expressed by the equation E=mc²
• Spacetime Curvature


  The presence of mass and energy causes the curvature of the fabric of spacetime itself
• Geodesics


  Paths followed by objects moving under the influence of gravity in curved spacetime, representing the "straightest" possible paths

  
• Gravitational Time Dilation


  The flow of time is influenced by the strength of gravity, with time running slower in regions of stronger gravitational fields
• Gravitational Waves


  Ripples in the fabric of spacetime itself, produced by accelerating masses or violent cosmic events
• Black Holes


  Regions in space where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape their gravitational pull

  
• The Pound-Rebka experiment provided direct experimental evidence for the gravitational redshift predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity
• Cosmological Principle


  The universe is homogeneous and isotropic on large scales
• Quantum Mechanics


  A branch of physics that deals with the behavior of particles at the microscopic scale, based on the principle that particles can exist in multiple states simultaneously
• Quantum Mechanics Example


  • Atoms in a box can exhibit strange and unpredictable behaviors, like teleporting or moving in ways that make it impossible to know both their exact position and speed at the same time