PHYSICAL SCIENCE WEEK 11 HANDOUTS

Albert Einstein and the Theories of General &

Special Relativity Logically, this propelled Einstein to intelligently consider TIME as an
independent 4th Dimension in his Theory of Relativity!
 Born: March 14, 1879 -Wurttemberg, Germany
Died - April 18, 1955- New Jersey, US Based on these philosophies, Einstein wrote ….

 Awards “It is very well possible that without these philosophical studies I
Nobel Prize in Physics would not have arrived at this situation!”
Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society
Max Planck Medal Prior to Einstein… Scientists’ concept of space and lightspeed was…
TIME – Person of the Century The space was filled with Luminiferous Aether (LA). LA causes the
Various Medals from Scientific Community, Countries, etc. change in Speed of Light depending on the relative motion of the
Source and Observer!
At first he was misunderstood…
1884 – Seen a compass. Becomes Fascinated with Physics In 1905 Einstein proposed a new theory based on two principles…
1894 – 15 y/o – writes his first scientific paper 1] The laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating
1895 – Fails the college entrance exam. Excels in Math. Sent observers!
to a town school.
2] The speed of light in a vacuum is independent of the motion of all
observers.

He calculated the Speed of light = 186,000 miles/sec!

As a result of these principles, Einstein deduced that… There is no

Fixed Frame of Reference in the Universe

Everything is moving Relative to everything else! This is known as

Special Relativity because it applies only to special cases to…
…frames of reference in constant, unchanging motion.

This created the basis for the THEORY OF GENERAL RELATIVITY

Einstein then spent 10 years thinking and trying to include

acceleration in the theory.

Finally in 1915, Einstein published the General Theory of Relativity,

which applies to… Frames that are accelerating with regard to each
other.

And he determined that… Massive objects cause a distortion in

space-time-network, which is felt as gravity.

He conceptualized TIME as.. Time does not

pass at the same rate for everyone.
Einstein’s Special & General Theory of Relativity A fast-moving observer measures time
2015 celebrated as the 100 th year of publication of Einstein’s Theory passing more slowly than a [relatively]
of Relativity. stationary observer would.

Einstein’s Theories of Relativity revolutionized how Today’s To visualize the TIME concept… The Moving
Scientific world thinks about… Space, Time, Mass, Energy and Watch runs more slowly than the Stationary
Gravity. Watch!

Two Historic subjects catalyzed Einstein’s thoughts… This phenomenon is called Time Dilation!

ONE The Laws of Isaac Newton used to understand the A fast moving object appears Shorter along the direction of Motion
Physics of Motion relative to slow-moving one!

In 1687, Newton wrote…Gravity affects everything in the Universe. This effect is very negligible until the Object moves close to the
The same force of Gravity pulled an apple down from a tree and also Speed of Light!
kept the earth in Motion around the sun. But Newton never puzzled Einstein's Derived his famous equation… E = mc 2
out the Source of Gravity! This was the shortfall of Newtonian
Mass and Energy are different manifestations of the same thing.
Genius!

TWO David Hume was a Philosopher. An empiricist and skeptic.

Einstein’s thinking about Space and Time were greatly ignited by

Hume’s 1738 book, “A Treatise of Human Nature”

Hume believed that scientific concepts must be based on…

“Experience and Evidences, not reason alone!” He also
believed…“Time did not exist separately from the Movement of
Objects!”

Important to note… Hume’s concept of TIME… A sense of Relativity

and Variability imbibed within...
Einstein’s Model considered 4 Dimensions: Space – 3 Dimensions
and Time as the 4th Dimension

So, TIME is considered as a variable!

In Einstein’s model… Space and Time are part of one continuum

called the Space-Time Continuum

Space-time can be thought of as a grid or fabric, knitted intrinsically

with Space and Time threads.

Rubber sheet model is a popular visualization.

Now, the presence of any Mass distorts the Fabric, that is space-time.

How Relativity Theory explains the source of Gravity?

The Gravity results from massive objects warping space-time.

The warp is called a gravity well.

Gravity bends light.

This phenomenon is called as Gravity Lensing.

When we observe a distant Galaxy… the Gravity of Matter between

Earth and the Galaxy causes light rays to bend into differen t paths.
And that’s why… When the light reaches the Telescope, multiple
images of the same Galaxy appear.

Prepared by:

Mr. ADRYAN J. VALIAO

Physical Science Teacher