DeepSite - 🧬 RemixUnderstanding Einstein's theory of gravity without the complex math
General Relativity is Einstein's theory of gravity that revolutionized our understanding of space, time, and the universe. It explains gravity not as a force, but as a curvature of spacetime caused by mass and energy.
Imagine space and time are woven together into a 4-dimensional fabric called spacetime. Massive objects like stars and planets create "dents" in this fabric, and other objects move along these curves.
Massive objects curve spacetime
Smaller objects follow the curvature
Gravity is a force that pulls objects together instantly across space.
Gravity is the curvature of spacetime caused by mass and energy.
Massive objects like the Sun curve the spacetime around them. Planets orbit by following these curves, not because of a mysterious force.
Like a bowling ball on a trampoline - it creates a dent that makes marbles roll around it.
Time runs slower in stronger gravitational fields. Your head ages faster than your feet (by a tiny amount)!
GPS satellites must account for time running faster in orbit (by 38 microseconds/day) or positions would be off by kilometers.
Rotating masses like Earth actually "drag" spacetime around with them, like stirring honey with a spoon.
This NASA experiment confirmed frame dragging by measuring how Earth's rotation twists spacetime around it.
General Relativity predicts the expansion of space itself, leading to our modern understanding of the Big Bang.
The mysterious force accelerating the expansion of the universe is one of GR's biggest puzzles.
This is the core equation of General Relativity. It relates the curvature of spacetime (left side) to the matter and energy content (right side).
Curvature of spacetime
Matter/energy content
Tensors are mathematical objects that generalize numbers, vectors, and matrices. In GR, they describe curvature and energy in all spacetime directions.
You don't need to solve these equations to grasp the key ideas. Think of spacetime as a flexible rubber sheet:
More mass → Deeper curvature → Stronger "gravity"
Faster motion → More time dilation → Clocks run slower
Light bends around massive objects, creating multiple images of distant galaxies.
Regions where spacetime curvature becomes infinite - first image captured in 2019.
Ripples in spacetime detected in 2015 from colliding black holes.
Explained the precession of Mercury's orbit that Newton couldn't.