I've read a bit about the theory of relativity - has anybody used it and if so what for?

Question

I meant the E=MC2 bit...

Answer 1

Relativity has been used to explain certain effects such as bent space. During a solar eclipse, stars were seen near the edge of the sun which should have been behind the sun's limb. The effect was predicted before the ecplise, and the "apparent" position of the star was preciselyt where Einstein predicted it would be.

The dialation of time has also been observed in objects moving near the speed of light. Certain exotic unstable subnuclear particles, which are the result of high-speed nuclear collisions, have been observed at ground level. They are produced when high speed cosmic rays smash into the nucleii of atoms high in our atmosphere. The problem is that these exotic particles have very short but well defined lifetimes. Even travelling at close to the speed of light, they should not live long enough to be observed on the ground. The fact we observe them means their "lifetime" has been mysteriously extended, as if their "internal clocks" have been slowed considerably, just as Einstein predicted.

Also, the increase in apparent mass for objects travelling near the speed of light had to be compensated for in particle accelerators, which are kind of like race-tracks for protons. The protons are confined and accelerated in a giant ring for the purpose of smashing the proton into another proton and observing the "debris". As these protons approached the speed of light, the amount of energy needed to confine the proton to the "racetrack" goes up on a sharp curve which agrees very closely with predicted relativistic equations.

I'm sure there are plenty more applications, but these are a few I remember off the top of my head. Great question!

Peace

Answer 2

Yeah. Not me personally but it's used in satalite communications.

Wiki says...
Because of their constant movement with respect to the Earth's reference frame, the clocks on the satellites are affected by Einstein's theories of both special and general relativity.[13] Observing from the Earth's reference frame, satellite clocks are perceived as running at a slightly faster rate than clocks on the Earth's surface. This amounts to a discrepancy of around 38 microseconds per day, when observed from the Earth. To account for this, the frequency standard on-board the satellites runs slightly slower than its desired speed on Earth, at 10.22999999543 MHz instead of 10.23 MHz—a difference of 0.00457 Hz.[14]
This offset is a practical demonstration of the theory of relativity in a real-world system; it is exactly what has been predicted by the theory, within the limits of accuracy of measurement.

Answer 3

"A man sits with a pretty girl for an hour and it seems shorter than a minute. But tell that same man to sit on a hot stove for a minute, it is longer than any hour. That's relativity."
[Albert Einstein]

So I think every one of us use relativity in our routine life.

Answer 4

I used it one time on a ride at Six Flags.You are strapped down in a box cage and dropped about two hundred feet. I got a nickel out of my pocket before the drop. When the drop started I let the nickel go, it hovered in front of me, and when the drop was over came back to rest in the palm of my hand. Gravity or Acceleration? Ha-Ha. Relativity in a nutshell.

Answer 5

Now, thats a Vague Question.

Could you mean Newtons Theory of Relativity or Einsteins Theory of Relativity.

And which part of the theory do you mean:
The mass of Light
Time in relation to speed
E=mc^2
Curved Space
Time warping

If you want an answer to your question, please could you be more specific about your subject

Answer 6

nobody is used it yet.but biggest controversy of science is on its use for time travel. that theory says that everything in this world is relative.even time is relative.it says that if anything travels more faster time gets slower for the thing.according to theory if we travel more faster than the speed of light we can go in the future.time gets slow for only what is travelling but nothing else.For example.an astronaut travels the space from earth more than light's speed.only after five minutes passed in his watch and goers back to earth he sees many years have passed.he is in future.but on the other hand Einstein himself said that nothing can travel faster than light.and it is true.

Answer 7

We all have. Every time you go someplace in your automobile the principle of relativity is being activated. A person exchanges energy for time as they move. The greater the energy, the faster a person is able to travel in a given time. The less energy used (gasoline being expended for speed) the greater the amount of time is needed to move point to point.

Answer 8

Walked to the back of a jumbo jet. But I dont know if I was walking at minus 495mph.

Answer 9

I used it last weekend to amplify my mushroom trip. I totally mastered it in all aspects, and truly understood it. F*cked if I can remember now though.

Answer 10

I use it keep the lid on my cooler shut... keeps the beer a lot colder that way...

And I says to myself, I say "Al, you dumb motherf***er, why don't you keep the lid on that thing and then your f***ing ice won't melt...", and I stopped and I thought about it, then I said, "You know what Al, I think you done gone and figured it out, Got damnit!

(Edit: Damn, there's a lot of morons on here today!!!!)