2007-08-01 03:02:54 · 4 answers · asked by rick n 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
relativity: the laws of physics are the same in different reference frames (thought of by galileo and even before that)
special relativity: the speed of light is constant no matter what reference frame you are in. Combine that with the above relativity and you get results like time dilation, length contraction, and the equivalence of energy and mass.
general relativity: being in a gravitational field is the same as being in an accelerating reference frame. As a result, gravity must bend light. Time dilates when you are in a gravitational potential well. You can interpret the effects of gravity as a bending in space/time.
If you really want to understand this stuff, you need to take a bunch of physics classes (or at least read wiki articles for a basic gloss-over)
2007-08-01 03:09:07 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 3⤋
There are two cases of relativity, general and special.
General is Einstein's gravity theory. Basically it says that we all move in space-time and objects that have mass cause deformations or curves in space-time. The effects of this curvature is what we refer to as gravity.
Special relativity is an extension of Galileo's principle of relativity which says that if two objects are moving past each other, each can say that they are not moving and the other is and both would be right. Einstein expanded on this by saying that not only are both observers right in their measurement of the other person's motion but that both observers would get the same answer if they measured the speed of light with respect to their inertial frame. This may seem to not make sense but it has been verified experimentally. A byproduct of this theory is that mass and energy are related by the famous equation e=mc^2.
2007-08-01 10:15:41 · answer #2 · answered by jacksjb_44 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The Eintein theory of relativity was formulated on two and only two postulates which is;
Postulate #1
The Speed of light is a constant in all frames of references, irrespective of the motion of the source.(that means in the vaccuum of local space)
Postulate #2
All inertial frames of reference are equivalent (that means all laws of physics apply the same way in all frames of references)
That is the description of the theory of relativety in simple terms.
PS;The General Relativity theory was not really a relativity theory. It is rather a Theory of Invarience.
Galileo was really the one who defined relativity before Einstein. It is called Galileo Relativity.
2007-08-01 10:19:38 · answer #3 · answered by goring 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Special relativity: the speed of light is constant. Since, in the classical sense speed=distance/time, distance and time are not constants (I mean absolute distances and times, like 1second and 1metre) but depend on your speed.
General relavity: mass causes space-time to warp. Also, gravitational pull and acceleration are fundamentally similar. General relativity is extremely complicated, mathmatically, but these are the simple outcomes.
2007-08-01 10:21:26 · answer #4 · answered by kangaruth 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋