The gravity-the phenomenon that makes objects fall to the ground, generates tides and causes movement of the planets in elliptical orbits around the Sun is not a force acting at a distance. Gravity is the effect of matter transformed space and time. This is, in the words of theoretical physicist John A. Wheeler, the fundamental idea by Albert Einstein in his general theory of relativity that is 100 years old this month.
With her Einstein overthrew the model of your hero, Isaac Newton, whose predictions had dominated physics for more than 200 years and laid the foundations of what is now regarded as the best description of gravity. For Newton, and millions of engineering students around the world, gravity is a force that attracts objects to each other by having mass. (See also: Einstein, ‘pop idol’)
For Einstein, the mass of the objects alters the geometry of space and time, creating an invisible landscape of valleys and hills, as folds of a sheet, but in the fabric of the universe itself.
For us, bipedal hominids whose senses were developed to interpret timelines and away present on the planet Earth, Newton’s laws are closer to our interpretation of reality. We can perceive the fall of an apple, the movement of a bus or the rotation of the Earth and describe correctly with Newton’s laws.
 When he came to New York ( EE. UU.), in 1921, Albert Einstein was welcomed as a hero. Photo: File
|
These laws allow the construction of buildings, bridges and cars. But embark on more ambitious projects requires a theory that allows making predictions beyond the phenomena we perceive with the naked eye. In the case of gravity that theory is general relativity.
Here the geometry of space and time, inseparable in the same quantity known as space-time, it is the product of energy and momentum of matter and radiation. This means that space-time is not like a sheet of graph paper on which we exist and objects . On the contrary, the space-time is the product of these objects, not just the frame of reference in the world. Einstein introduced this relationship for the first time in two articles published on 25 November 1915, which was introduced what is now known as the Einstein equations.
These are the summary of the revolutionary way of thinking about gravity and space-time. Contain predictions about how time passes, what is the geometry of space, how the movement of bodies in free fall and how light propagates.
Part of the appeal of relativity is that it establishes three tests to allow testing. First, predicts correctly the anomalous behavior of Mercury’s orbit , which is not well established if you use only the theory of Newton.
Second, predicts the change in the light path by the influence of a massive object , a visible effect; for example in the position of the stars when the Sun as viewed from Earth, passes in front of them. Third, predicts the change in the wavelength of light by gravity. All of these tests were tested experimentally between 1919 and 1959 and even today there are experiments that continue to endorse its validity.
With general relativity, Einstein gives a new vision of the world, far beyond the scope of physics theories so far. Together with quantum mechanics, relativity is the foundation of physics that developed in the twentieth century.
If a scientist in 1900 had a chance to see the world we live , could only explain it by understanding these theories, but go unnoticed to the naked eye and hardly anyone thinks Planck when you turn on the phone or agreed Einstein to send a text message.
General relativity is hidden in the fabric of the modern world. Without it would be impossible to synchronize the thousands of operations that the global economy is moving let alone dream of someday extend our domain outside the planet Earth.
One hundred years after the presentation of this theory it is impossible to imagine the modern world without it, but it is also impossible to imagine its scope in the world of tomorrow. General relativity allows the satellites to synchronize time to study the universe as a whole and dream of space-time travel.
The science fiction in film and literature have explored the potential of this theory and have become popular very complex concepts such as gravitational waves, black holes or wormholes, and have perpetuated the image of Einstein as an icon of the twentieth century. Here are some examples.
‘Back to the Future’
The last of the three tests of relativity Overall it was proven experimentally in 1959. By then, Einstein had become a global icon, his image had become a symbol of the power of science and its appearance was already in the popular imagination as the epitome of the scientist. Although ‘Back to the Future’ (1985) does not meditate too much about the physics of time travel, Dr. Emmett Brown, played by Christopher Lloyd, is inspired by Einstein and his dog is named after the famous German scientist.
“The theory of everything ‘
In the poster and several scenes of” The Theory of Everything “(2014), biopic of scientific Stephen Hawking, Einstein’s equations are. These are a very powerful tool to relate the energy and momentum of matter and radiation to the geometry of spacetime. As Peter Parker (Spiderman) or Clark Kent (Superman) have to train to learn to manage their powers, equations physicists study like this to understand its scope. To say that the powers of Superman or Spiderman serve to defeat Lex Luthor or Doctor Octopus would be in addition to a lack of imagination, tremendously limit its scope. The same applies to these equations.
‘The Simpsons’
One of the best representations of the geometry of space-time in culture is popular in Episode VI The house of horror, of the popular television series The Simpsons. Homer escapes through a wardrobe to the three-dimensional space and there destabilizes the space causing a disturbance that grows like a black hole, producing a wormhole that transports him into our reality. One of the many references to physics and mathematics contained in this series.
“Planet of the Apes
George Taylor, the astronaut who personifies Charlton Heston in “Planet of the Apes (1968) comes to a planet in principle unknown, dominated by a race of apes. Time dilation, change over time due to the speed of an object, is one of the predictions of the special theory of relativity and explains why the astronaut Taylor becomes the Earth centuries after his departure, although he have just spent a few seconds.
“Interstellar ‘
For Christopher Nolan, director of’ Interstellar ‘-estrenada in 2014 the film It is a scientific project that tries to approximate the laws of physics. For this he enlisted the help of theoretical astrophysicist Kip Thorne, who advised on the design of the black hole that is part of history. A black hole is a region of the universe where much mass accumulates the bend spacetime allows nothing to escape, not even light. Although not perfect, ‘Interstellar’ is one of the best science fiction films to start wondering about the effects of Einstein’s theory.
|
|
The Avengers
Released in 2012, ‘The Avengers’ shows how an extraterrestrial object opens a hole in the space-time through which an alien invasion comes to New York (United States). A wormhole, also known as Einstein-Rosen bridge, is a topological feature of spacetime, a shortcut that connects two points in space-time may be far apart initially. Although no experimental evidence, Einstein’s equations allow solutions containing wormholes.
‘First’
the grand prize winner Sundance Film Festival, the independent film Primer (2004), shows two friends trying to create a device to cancel the effect of gravity. While it is a work of fiction that mentions the geometry of space-time, the use of superconductor, the Meissner effect and interpretation of Feynman diagrams are a fascinating story filmed brilliantly by director Shane Carruth.
‘Insignificance’
In this film the British Nicolas Roeg (1985), Marilyn Monroe, Joseph McCarthy, Joe DiMaggio and Albert Einstein are as fictional characters at a hotel in New York. In addition to an interesting discussion on relativity between Monroe and Einstein, German physicist talks about the role of science in society and utters an event that, although it is part of the script, the real Einstein never said, “They will not take responsibility its world. They want to put it on the shoulders of a few. I can tell how heavy the world … “
” Einstein and Eddington ‘
Although not a movie, this miniseries (2008 ) recreates the relationship between Albert Einstein and Sir Arthur Eddington. In 1919, the expedition led by Eddington first observed gravitational effect on the light during a total solar eclipse. Simultaneously from the west coast of Africa and eastern Brazil, Eddington and his team measured the change in the position of the stars when they are near the sun from Earth’s perspective. The position of the stars during the eclipse confirmed the predictions of general relativity. The checks Einstein earned almost instant worldwide recognition and became the most renowned physicist on the planet.
JUAN DIEGO SOLER
Astrophysical Colombian researcher astronomy service . CEA in France
Twitter:juandiegosoler
No comments:
Post a Comment