This question comes from a final year school student, trying to answer a question about astronauts in spacestations. Well, having seen numerous videos of astronauts, the answer would seem to be no. They float around quite happily, scientists refer to them as being in a zero gravity environment, their leg muscles don’t get enough exercise, […]
Continue readingWhile we are talking about relativity, what about evidence for special relativity? That’s the area of physics which talks about the way things move at very high speeds (close to the speed of light). For example, we talk about things contracting as they get faster (Lorentz contraction) and time slowing down (time dilation). Neither of […]
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It’s ninety years since the 1919 total eclipse of the sun, in which Sir Arthur Eddington provided the first bit of experimental evidence for General Relativity, and shot Einstein to public prominence. What Eddington did was to measure the deflection of the light from stars as it passed close to the large mass of our […]
Continue readingAs I said, General Relativity in all its glory is an impenetrable wall of mathematics such that, if you ever have the misfortune to come across someone who says they understand it, your best bet is to offer a slight smile and back away carefully. Do not let anyone try to lecture you in it, […]
Continue readingFollowing from my brief comment last time about 2005 being Einstein year, I wonder if you, like me, have ever thought why it is that Einstein is so famous. I mean, just about everyone you will meet on the street will recognise a photo of Albert Einstein, but how many would recognise (say) Charles Darwin […]
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