Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity: An Elegant Equation
In Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity: An Elegant Equation, narrator Kate Yule explores Einstein’s realization that a key feature of space-time is that it could bend and flex. The Sun changes space-time, which Einstein suggests is the true nature of gravity. Learn how Einstein created an equation to express the curvature of space and time. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Einstein & Hawking: Masters of Our Universe, a mind-bending documentary that tells the story of how the two most famous scientists of the 20th Century transformed our understanding of the Universe and changed the world.
Lesson Express
Q: What did Einstein realize was a key feature of space-time?
A: Einstein realized that space-time could bend and flex.
Q: How does adding a large object to space change space?
A: Adding a large object, like our Sun, bends or changes the “fabric,” which impacts how the other objects move, creating an orbit around the large object.
Q: What does Einstein’s equation about the curvature of space and time tell us?
A: On the left is the geometry of space-time, and on the right is the distribution of energy and matter, suggesting that matter tells space-time how to curve and space-time tells matter how to move.
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