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Albert Einstein’s vs. Newton: General Theory of Relativity

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Albert Einstein’s vs. Newton: General Theory of Relativity
Albert Einstein’s vs. Newton: General Theory of Relativity Albert Einstein, most famously known as a physicist, was a contributor to the scientific world with his many known researches and humanitarian work. As a Nobel Prize Winner in 1921, his chronicled and more important works include Special Theory of Relativity (1905), Relativity (English Translation, 1920 and 1950), General Theory of Relativity (1916), Investigations on Theory of Brownian Movement (1926), and The Evolution of Physics (1938). (Nobel Prize Foundation, 1921) In all his important works, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity has lead the way for how science currently views time, space, energy, and gravity. Relativity, which all motion must be defined relative to a frame of reference and that space and time are relative, rather than absolute concepts, consists of two principal parts: The theory dealing with uniform motion, or the Special Theory of Relativity (1905) and the theory dealing with gravity, or the General Theory of Relativity (1916). (dictionary.com, pars. 2) Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity is the physical theory of measurement in inertial frames of reference. Although Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity was “special” because it dealt only with inertial reference frames; his General Theory of Relativity accounts not only for these, but also for bodies that accelerate and are based on the postulate that the local effects of a gravitational field and of acceleration of an inertial system are identical. (dictionary.com, pars.2)

An example of Einstein’s Special Relativity: One of the peculiar aspects of Einstein's theory of special relativity is that the length of objects moving at relativistic speeds undergo a contraction along the dimension of motion. An observer at rest (relative to the moving object) would observe the moving object to be shorter in length.

General relativity or the general theory of relativity



Cited: “Albert Einstein” Pac Bell. < http://home.pacbell.net/kidwell5/aebio.html> "Albert Einstein", Colliers Encyclopedia, (MacMillan, 1985) Volume 8, pg "Albert Einstein", World Book, (World Book Inc., 1999) Volume 6, pg. 146-147 "Albert Einstein", Encyclopedia Britanica, ( Encyclopedia Britanica Inc., 1997) Geroch, Robert. General Relativity from A to B. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978. “Newton’s Laws.” The Physics Classroom. 1996-2009.

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