what was einstein realativity theroy?

Question

sorry for my ignorance lol

im only in second seventh grade (lol)

Answer 1

The "theory" of relativity is really two theories.

Einstein first came up with the "special theory of relativity." According to this theory, whenever you measure the speed of light, you should always get the same number, whether you're moving toward the light or away from the light, or neither. Also, the theory says that, if you see something moving, there is really no way to tell absolutely whether the other thing is moving and you're standing still; or the other thing is standing still and YOU'RE moving. That's why it's called "relativity"; because all you can say is that you are moving "relative to" the other thing.

When you work out the math, the Special Theory of Relativity makes some very strange predictions. One prediction is that nothing can travel faster than light. Another prediction is that time will actually slow down for fast moving things. This was later confirmed by experiments.

Later, Einstein came up with the "general theory of relativity." The general theory of relativity provided a new explanation for gravity. The old theory said that stars and planets are attracted to each other by an invisible force called gravity. But Einstein said that planets and stars cause time and space to "curve," and the curvature of space causes things to move as though they're attracted to each other. The general theory of relativity predicts things like black holes. It also predicts that a light beam will bend as it travels past a heavy object (like a star or planet); and this was eventually confirmed by experiments.

One result of the theor(ies) of relativity is the equation "E=mc²", which says that matter and energy are the same thing. This is the most "famous" result among the general population (probably because it made nuclear weapons and nuclear energy possible); but it is actually just a tiny part of the theory.

Answer 2

Einstein's theory of special relativity gives the correct equations for coordinate system transformations in mechanics.

Newton's equations are flawed as they do not incorporate the fact that the speed of light is the same in all coordinate systems.

It turns out that if we apply Newton's equations at speeds above a small fraction of the speed of light gives the wrong results.

And using Newtonian theory for coordinate transformations (Galileo transformations) in problems involving electromagnetic fields gives nonsensical results at any velocity (because electromagnetic waves propagate at the same velocity, no matter what inertial system the observer is in).

As it happens, Maxwell discovered the correct equations of relativistic physics involving electromagnetic fields and in order to unify mechanics and electrodynamics, we need to modify mechanics the way Einstein suggested.

In his theory Einstein properly explained where the flaws come from in Newton's theory (by not defining the notions of time and distance properly) and how they can be avoided by making time a variable in physics rather than a parameter.

Hope this helps. If you want to understand more, you have to learn the theory in detail. In seventh grade you are smart enough to do that if your science teacher is willing to teach you and competent on the subject.

Answer 3

Einstein's Theory is based on two fundamental ideas:

(1) Light has the same finite and constant speed in all reference frames.
(2) Laws of physics are the same in all reference frames.

A reference frame is like a point of view. For example, you and I can represent two reference frames, where you are stationary on Earth, and I am traveling on a rocket moving away from Earth at a very fast speed.

Since you are on Earth and I am moving away, we each have a different point of view. What Einstein discovered is that if I am moving away at speed close to the speed of light and I shine a beam of light back at you on Earth, the speed of light according to you and to me are exactly the SAME.

How is that possible? Well, it turns out the reason is because time is moving at a slower speed for me than you. Remember, when we measure the speed of something, we need the distance it travelled and the amount of time it took. So if the speed of light is the same in every reference frame, then that means time and distance are different for different reference frames.

That is the essence of Einstein's Theory of Relativity.

Answer 4

e=mc^2 where m is the mass........don blame me for my ignorance....im only in the 8th grade....!!!!!!!