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__The Theory of Relativity__ The theory of relativty is the theory that space and time are both relative concepts and not absolute concepts. The first person to come up with this idea was Albert Einstein. He came up with two diffrent types of relativity, the theory of special relativity and the general theory of relativity. The theory of special relativity describes particles moving close to the speed of light. Einstein bases special relativity off of two ideas: The speed of light is the same for all observers, no matter how fast they are moving and in any inertial frame of reference, all of the laws of physics are the same. These two statements showed how momentum and energy must be changed and quantities such as time and length must be diffrent from one observer to another. In 1916, Einstein expanded his special theory of relativity to include the effects of gravitiation on the shape of space and the flow of time. This was called Einstein's general theory of relativity.

__The Flow of Spacetime__ Hans Von Baeyer descibed another way the curvature of spacetime. He states that spacetime is an invisible stream flowing ever onward, bending in response to objects in it s path, carrying everything in the universe along its twists and turns. This is the basic idea of the general theory of relativity. It states that a uniform gravitational field (like that near the Earth) is equivalent to a uniform acceleration. This explains that a person would not be able to tell the difference between (a) standing on the Earth, feeling the effects of gravity as a downward pull and (b) standing in a very smooth elevator that is accelerating upwards at just the right rate of exactly 32 feet per second squared. Even in both cases a person would feel the same downward pull of gravity. Einstein asserted that these effects were actually the same. A far cry from Newton's view of gravity as a force acting at a distance.



Works cited: "Theory of Relativity." __Stanford__. 25 Jan. 2009 [|www.slac.stanford.edu/vvc/theory/relativity.html]. This article is about Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. It gives clear reasoning as to why Newton's Laws are not as precise as Einstein's Theory. It accurately depicts why Newton's Laws are only applicable to particles moving at slower speeds, such as the objects that we see day to day, rather than objects such as light particles. It clearly explains that the speed of light is the same for all "observers", no matter speed. It also states that the laws of physics are the same for any unaccelerated frame of reference.

"General Relativity." __NCSA Web archive bounce page__. 1995. 27 Jan. 2009 . This website is intended to inform one on Einstein's Theory of Relativity. It is an in depth site that includes information about the Theory of Relativity and, under the Exhibit Map link at the bottom, gives information about Albert Einstein and a time line of Numerical Relativity. Although it has not been updated recently, much of the information is still credible and the links to other sections of the site work well. The NCSA (National Center for Supercomputing Applications), which is used by scientists and engineers throughout the United States, along with the University of Illinois, maintain this site.