Einsteins Theory of Relativity

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Einstein's Theory of Relativity * Theory of Relativity The theory of relativity is actually two things. Special relativity and general relativity. The theory of relativity transformed physics and astronomy during the 20th century. The theory replaced Isaac Newton's theory of mechanics. * Special Relativity Special relativity is the is the explanation of how to interpret motion between different inertial frames of motion.To explain inertial frames of motion look at the wall next to you now look at the wall to the other side of you. Both of those walls are moving at the same constant speed. That is all you have to know right now. Einstein explained that special relativity only has to do with specific cases. Another example is, your riding a bike and you see a bird and you want to share what you saw with another biker all that matters is the speed of you and the other biker, not the space in between. The problem with special relativity is that it only applies when you are going in a straight line at a constant speed. Once you turn or accelerate this theory ceases to apply.That’s where Einstein's general theory of relativity comes in, because it can be applied to any sort of motion. *General Relativity Einstein's theory was based on two key principles. The principle of relativity, The laws of physics don’t change, even for objects moving in inertial frames of reference. And the principle of the speed of light, the speed of light is the same for all observers, regardless of their motion relative to the light source. The genius of Einstein’s discoveries is that he looked at the experiments and assumed the findings were true. This was the exact opposite of what other physicists seemed to be doing. Instead of assuming the theory was correct and that the experiments failed, he assumed that the experiments were correct and the theory had failed.Einstein’s

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