Is there ANY way that general relativity helps us people today? or like does it help NASA in any way?!
I'm desperate..i just need to know how general relativity helps us even in the littlest way.
2007-09-07 15:01:23 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
At first there was an intelligent answer here, I reedited it because I'm getting tired, Good Night ya
plz don't report me, theres no way I'm going to get the 10 pts anyway, they beat me to it, so I decided to edit my original answer
2007-09-07 15:09:53 · answer #1 · answered by Flaming Pope 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You know those GPS programs you got installed in all new cars? Well, it turns out that to have the kind of nanosecond precision that is necessary to triangulate position, the satellites above have to take into account General Relativity. Time progesses at a different rate for them then for us because they are further away from a gigantic gravity well (called Earth). Without taking into account of general relativity, its measurements would be off by a matter of miles. In fact, most of the work done in space has to take into account relativity because of the varying gravitational fields so NASA deals with it a lot.
2007-09-07 15:08:16 · answer #2 · answered by Archknight 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It lets parents tell their kids that all the bad stuff in science fiction could never really happen ;)
It actually gets used for things like astronomy a fair bit. They can tell how old things are or how fast they're moving by observing lengths. There's a gravitational lens (Abell 1689) out there too where a bunch of stars actually bend space-time and let the Hubble see another bajillion light-years.
2007-09-07 15:09:16 · answer #3 · answered by joker 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
GPS, yes. In addition, astronomers are in the process of cataloging large asteroids that one day may collide with earth. Projecting their path requires very precise calculations, so I'd be surprised if general relativistic corrections to Newtonian gravity were not employed in doing so. This helps us by letting us know if we're projected to get smacked by an asteroid in time to do something about it (like nudge it out or our path).
2007-09-07 16:14:14 · answer #4 · answered by Dr. R 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, you have to take it into account when you run the global positioning system (GPS) location system, otherwise the system wouldn't be accurate enough.
Look at the references.
2007-09-07 15:09:38 · answer #5 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to the library and learn how to use its information. Start by talking with the librarian.
2007-09-07 15:09:07 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋