Researched
Theory of Relativity
Einstein shows that space and time are relative (1905) and that gravity is curved spacetime (1915).
Open in the interactive tree →Special relativity (1905) gives E = mc^2 and makes the speed of light a limit. General relativity (1915) describes gravity as the curvature of spacetime; it was confirmed in 1919 by the bending of starlight at a solar eclipse. Today GPS satellites need relativistic corrections of about 38 microseconds per day, and black holes and gravitational waves are direct consequences.
Prerequisites
- Newtonian Mechanics1687
- Non-Euclidean Geometry1829
- Electromagnetism1831-1865
- Riemannian Geometry1854General relativity is written in the language of curved Riemannian geometry
- Michelson-Morley Experiment1887The ether null result was a key puzzle that special relativity resolved
Unlocks
- Noether's Theorem1918
- Expansion & Big Bang1929
- Antimatter1932
- Nuclear Physics1938
- Fusion Powers the Stars1939
- Quantum Electrodynamics1948
- Bell Test of Entanglement1964
- Black Holes (Cygnus X-1)1971-72
- Standard Model of Particles1973
- Black Hole Thermodynamics1974
- Satellite navigation (GPS)1995
- Gravitational Waves Detected2015
- First Black Hole Images (EHT)2019
- DESI: Evolving Dark Energy?2025
- Quantum Gravityopen