About
Published by Albert Einstein in 1915, General Relativity is our best theory of gravity and the large-scale structure of the universe. It replaced Newton's concept of gravity as a force with a profound new idea: massive objects curve the fabric of spacetime, and that curvature is what we experience as gravity.
General Relativity has been tested to extraordinary precision. It predicted the bending of light by gravity (confirmed in 1919 during a solar eclipse), gravitational time dilation (now essential for GPS accuracy), the existence of black holes, gravitational waves (detected by LIGO in 2015), and the expanding universe.
Every GPS device on Earth must account for General Relativistic effects or accumulate errors of kilometers per day. The theory is embedded in our daily technology while simultaneously describing the most extreme phenomena in the cosmos.
# Top 10 General Relativity facts
- 1GPS satellites must correct for General Relativistic time dilation or GPS would drift 7 miles per day
- 2Gravitational waves were detected for the first time in 2015 by LIGO, confirming a century-old prediction
- 3Einstein developed General Relativity without any experimental anomaly requiring it — pure thought
- 4The first confirmation of General Relativity came during the 1919 solar eclipse observed by Arthur Eddington
- 5Time literally passes faster at higher altitudes — measurable with atomic clocks
Fascinating Facts
- ◆GPS satellites must correct for General Relativistic time dilation or GPS would drift 7 miles per day
- ◆Gravitational waves were detected for the first time in 2015 by LIGO, confirming a century-old prediction
- ◆Einstein developed General Relativity without any experimental anomaly requiring it — pure thought
- ◆The first confirmation of General Relativity came during the 1919 solar eclipse observed by Arthur Eddington
- ◆Time literally passes faster at higher altitudes — measurable with atomic clocks
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