AST-1002 Chapter 14: AST Chapter 14
Document Summary
In 1905, albert einstein derived his theory of special relativity, a description of how motion affects our measurements of distance, time, and mass. Although the implications of the theory proved revolutionary, the first notion seems simple: Your description of physical reality is the same regardless of the (constant) velocity at which you move. Theory of special relativity - a description of mechanics and electromagnetic theory formulated by einstein according to which measurements of distance, time, and mass are affected by the observer"s motion. Regardless of your speed or direction, you always measure the speed of light to be the same. Theory of general relativity - a description of spacetime formulated by einstein explaining how gravity affects the geometry of space and the flow of time. Photons that leave the vicinity of a star also lose energy in climbing out of the star"s gravitational field. They do not slow down like a bullet fired upward.
