Important notices
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A century ago, Albert Einstein shocked the science circles by his publication of the theory of Special Relativity. The new sky show "Albert Einstein", produced by the Space Museum, will explore this amazing theory.
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Albert Einstein was considered to have learning disorders when he was a child. Yet, in 1905, he published several ground-breaking theories, and among them the most astonishing one being the theory of Special Relativity. Based on the two postulates that the speed of light is constant and the laws of physics apply equally to all inertial reference frames, the theory predicts strange effects such as time dilation, length contraction and simultaneity of events varies according to viewers.
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Albert Einstein
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General Relativity accurately predicted
and calculated the anomalous precession
of the orbit of Mercury.
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From 1905 to 1916, Einstein worked on the General Theory of Relativity, a new concept on gravitation. This theory satisfactorily explains the anomalous orbit of Mercury and predicts the phenomenon of gravitational redshift. During the total solar eclipse in 1919, scientists verified that light from remote stars could be bent by the gravity of the Sun - just as Einstein predicted. Einstein became world famous overnight.
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The most famous equation in Einstein's theories is E=mc2. This equation explains how stars shine, how they evolve and how the heavy elements essential for life are formed in the stars. The development of nuclear weapons is also based on this equation. Though nuclear wars can be exterminatory, nuclear weapons may be used in a beneficial way. Asteroids or other objects which may collide with the Earth may be diverted by nuclear weapons to save the Earth from such outer space disasters.
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If a clock is moving with respect to
an observer, the clock runs slower
according to that observer.
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According to Special Relativity, if an object is moving with respect to an observer, its length contracts for that observer.
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In April 2004, NASA launched Gravity Probe B
which made use of extremely precise gyroscopes
to measure the drift of the spacecraft's orbit to verify
the theory of General Relativity.
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"Gravitational lens" formed by the gravity of massive
galaxy clusters Abell 1689 bends and magnifies
the light of the galaxies located far behind it,
demonstrating exquisitely Einstein's prediction
that gravity warps space and distorts beams of light.
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Simultaneity of events is relative. Two light beams
emitted in the middle of a travelling spaceship arrive
at both ends at the same time according to viewers
inside the spaceship. Viewers outside observe that
the two beams arrive at different times.
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The famous equation E=mc2 derived
from the theory of Special Relativity
indicates that mass can be converted into
energy. This explains how stars such as
the Sun produce huge amount of energy.
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Albert Einstein
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Photo courtesy:
NASA
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