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Theory Of Relativity Passes Its Toughest Test Yet



By  Sahil Shaikh     5:53 AM    Labels:,,,,,, 

Theory Of General Relativity Passes TOUGHEST Test Yet...

Theory of General Relativity - Gravity

It's been almost 100 hundred years since the one of the greatest theoretical-physicist, Albert Einstein published his Theory Of General Relativity(1916) which laid the foundation of modern physics. Before I write further, here's what General Relativity means :

The Theory Of General Relativity helps explain the force of gravity in terms of a four dimensional space-time. It was based on the idea that the laws of science should be the same for any observer irrespective of their velocity.


Like the name suggests, general relativity is a "theory" and not a fundamental law. A theory is considered a law when it can be applied to every single thing it talks about. This is obtained by experimental observations. Scientists have been making calculations and studying macro-objects like galaxies,etc. since the past century only to find that Albert Einstein's General Theory has been consistent with them(not Special Relativity). But you can't take anything for granted because the next finding could contradict what a proposed theory suggests and therefore refute it(which has happened with many!)

The BOSS(Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey) studied more than 600,000 galaxies(only a small fraction of whats out there) to measure the interaction of their gravity. These are said to be the most precise calculations of the gravitational interaction between galaxies. This was the toughest test that the theory of relativity had to face due to its scale of observation and precision. That's what makes it special, because the General Theory of Relativity has succeeded in explaining this phenomenon too! 


Credit - BOSS / Univ. of Portsmouth

Studying 600,000 galaxies isn't certainly an easy task. Almost all the galaxies are a part of a cluster called "galaxy clusters" which makes it even difficult to determine the individual gravitational effect as these galaxies tend to fall inwards. The BOSS team was able to calculate the force of the gravity with a precision of 6% which is a lot though it doesn't seem like. The predictions made by the General Theory of Relativity look to be "perfectly" consistent as written by Astronomy.com. The General Theory of Relativity has helped modern-physics reach the forever extending peak of science. The predictions made by Albert Einstein in his theories have been consistent everywhere and every time. 

"Lets remember the man, Albert Einstein, one of the greatest thinkers to ever walk this planet and shape modern-physics thereby helping us open one of the many uncharted doors to this Wonderful Universe! "


About Sahil Shaikh

We are a way for the universe to know itself. Some part of our being knows this is where we came from. We long to return. And we can, because the cosmos is also within us. We're made of star-stuff.

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