The General Theory of Relativity
Isaac Newton's discovery of the Law of Universal Gravitation would seem to have definitively answered the question of planetary movement. And yet, it became apparent to scientists that a number of phenomena which they observed did not agree with those they expected to see based on Newton's predictions.
One of the differences was the orbit of the planet Mercury, which did not quite match the orbit predicted by Newton's theory. Another problem resulted from James Clerk Maxwell's theory of electromagnetism (about 1870), which indicated that space was filled with matter that moved and was not empty and motionless, as Newton had believed. Finally, there was a problem with Newton's claim that light travelled at a constant speed, whether the observer was moving toward or away from it or not.
These questions captured the interest of a brilliant young physics student, Albert Einstein.
Einstein's first attempt to solve the problem was his 1905 paper on The Special Theory of Relativity, a concept which had been noted by Galileo in 1632. In this work, Einstein found that time and space are relative, not constant. This means that time and space are different depending on where the observer is. This was proved by an experiment involving two clocks: one was put on an aeroplane which travelled around the world and the other remained at the starting point on the ground. When the first one returned, it was running slower than the one which had been left behind, exactly as Einstein had predicted.
Einstein continued to expand on this theory, and in 1916 presented a paper on a new theory, The General Theory of Relativity, which took into account the effect of gravitation on space and time. It involved the notion of space time, a multi-dimensional phenomenon which is constantly moving and bending as it meets obstacles in its path. Everything in the universe is part of this space time and is carried along with it. Furthermore, gravity is not a force which moves things, but rather it is an element which illustrates curved space and time.
Einstein's theory was based on geometrical calculations and principles and had to be proved by scientific testing in the natural world, which many scientists were eager to do. In 1919, during a solar eclipse, a British team working in two different locations measured the light of several stars. They found that the light from these stars was actually bent, just as Einstein's theory had predicted. Needless to say, Einstein immediately became internationally famous. Scientists continued to apply Einstein's equations to other natural phenomena, all with positive results.
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Read the text and decide if the following statements are true or false.
1. The orbit of the planet Mercury led scientists to question Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation.
2. Maxwell agreed with Newton that space was empty and motionless.
3. Einstein was the first scientist to talk about the notion of relativity.
4. According to Einstein, gravity is not a force which moves matter.
5. Einstein's theories were never proved by scientific testing.
The General Theory of Relativity
1. Ньютон утверждал, что свет распространяется с постоянной скоростью независимо от того, движется наблюдатель к источнику излучения или от него.
2. Альберт Эйнштейн попытался решить проблему света в своей работе «Специальная теория относительности».
3. Эйнштейн установил, что время и пространство не постоянны, а относительны.
4. Теория Эйнштейна была экспериментально доказана с помощью двух часов. Часы, которые находились в летящем самолете, шли медленнее, чем те, которые оставались на земле.
5. Во время солнечного затмения было обнаружено, что свет, исходящий от звёзд, отклоняется. Это открытие принесло всемирную славу Эйнштейну.
6. Эйнштейн предположил, что гравитация - это не сила, а свидетельство искривления пространства-времени.
7. Многие учёные применяли уравнения Эйнштейна для описания других явлений и получали положительный эффект.
Вариант 3
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