Einstein's Theory of Relativity
Albert Einstein in 1948. Wikipedia 2004.
Motion and time are fundamental components of life. Finding himself late to work, an employee will
drive faster, which in turn, will reduce the time needed to commute to his job. The rules of motion and
time are known intrinsically to every person on the planet. As children, these “Laws” become common
sense. No explanation is needed when a sleeping student falls out of his desk onto the floor. Motion and
time were always considered to be self-explanatory and obvious parts of everyday life. This was true until
a group of scientists who deemed themselves “Physicists” began challenging the known rules of motion
and explaining them using mathematics and experimentation. Isaac Newton was one of these founding
fathers of physics. His experiments in the 17th century focused on “Forces”: Pushes and pulls that made
matter move. Every physics student has been made familiar with his three laws of motion, and to this day,
these remain the fundamental rules of moving bodies on Earth. Newton would remain the most famous
physicist of all time until the early 1900's, when a new champion of physics set the world ablaze with
dreams of time travel, black holes, and a mysterious phenomenon dubbed “Relativity.” Albert Einstein’s
ideas revolutionized science and technology and opened a new field of theoretical physics concerned
with the origins and behavior of the universe as a whole. Many believe that only a person of Einstein’s
mental caliber could possibly comprehend The Theory of Relativity, but this is far from true. The concepts
behind this theory are accessible by most everyone, but it took a man of Einstein’s genius and
determination to see what so many had taken granted for many years. Understanding the Theory of
Relativity comes with knowing the man behind the theory, the concepts which lead to the theory, and
finally the ramifications the theory had upon modern science and technology.
This page was created by George S. Walker V. (2004)
Wikipedia 2004.