what is relativity?

Answer 1

Somthing is relative if it REQUIRES a basis for comparison. An excellent example of this is the adjective 'good'. Is a bowl of beans good? That question is meaningless without more information: good FOR what or good COMPARED TO what? If you're hungry, a bowl of beans is very good indeed (but maybe not as good as a nice steak). If you need to change a light bulb, a bowl of beans is probably worse than useless.

This should not be confused with something that is subjective. Subjectivity is probably easier to understand by thinking of its opposite.

The opposite of a 'subjective truth' is an objective one. Something would be objective if it would be the same for anyone in the same conditions. So, for example, the speed of light in a vacuum. Anyone in that environment and using those terms will get the same result.

A subjective truth may change from observer to observer. For example, I find this answer to your question to be reasonable and understandable. You might not, however. And a third person may have his own opinion. Whether or not this answer is understandable, therefore, is subjective.

But that same question is NOT relative. My answer to your question is either understandable or not and you don't need other answers to figure out if this is the case. On the other hand, being the BEST answer IS a relative quality - you can't be the best of something that only includes you (even if you can, it's pointless... no information is gained).

Answer 2

The law of relativity was thought out by Einstein ,it is the relation between the speed of light and time , he explains that theoretically having a machine traveling many times faster than a speed of light and you insight of it , would not feel the change of time , as would the people left on earth , theoretically ,say your round trip time was one month in the machine ,but when you are back ,the earth and friends have aged several years , this is one way to travel to the future , but you can't come back.

Answer 3

Relativity is a principle based on the assumption that our knowlegde velocity is relative, andleading to conclusions that do not agree with previousy accepted principle of mechanics.

Answer 4

My uncles a relative

Answer 5

simple:

relativity, all it is, is the slowing down of time INSIDE a place as a whole.. that, as a whole, is going really really fast

why? because the maximum speed limit in the Universe = speed of light...

so if inside, a car is moving really fast (like 50% of light) + the whole (planet earth) is moving really fast (90-% light)---then the car (adding two velocities) could be moving at above the speed of light, UNLESS, the car speed SLOWED down inside...so that its total speed was still less or equal to light speed. Abiding by the universal speed limit.

therefore, if something inside moves really fast, and the whole is also moving fast.....the inside thing "slows" down...to make up

why? because velocity = distance/ time

so if you prolong time...then the speed slows down, which then makes the velocity of the car slower....

so relative to outside for example...it is going slower, because it has to, so that when its (the car's) speed adds up with the planet's speed say (going at close to the speed of light), the car's speed doesn't exceed speed of light...

so to someone at rest, it looks like it is going slower...but since everything INSIDE the planet is going slower, the person that is driving the car senses things to be normal..because even the electrons in his brain move slower...

hope you understand the concept.

THIS IS A MORE INTUITIVE EXPLANATION:

imagine objects can only "devote" a certain amount of "motion" ---so that if it "devotes" most of its motion along "one axis of motion" (direction), then it has less "motion" to devote to other directions...or axises of motion.

so motion in essence, becomes slower in other directions....

if an object, say, devotes most of its motion along one direction..at close to the speed of light...that means that the object can only devote "a certain amount of motion" a long another direction...

it has a small amount of "motion" in its bank...so what happens if the object tries to cheat? robbing motion? getting very close to that limit...what happens? because it desperately wants to beat the universal speed limit.

the bank...to make things equal...makes the speed in the other direction....slower, by prolonging the time...

v= d/t

so, that it never exceeds its maximum...kind of like using inflation to battle printing of money that is not rightfully "yours"...just so, the object cannot exceed its bank account of motion.......so it balances out, by making the speed the same currency...by slowing down the time..so that nothing becomes overvalued.