Why is the theory of general relativity important?

General relativity has developed into an essential tool in modern astrophysics. It provides the foundation for the current understanding of black holes, regions of space where the gravitational effect is strong enough that even light cannot escape.

What is the theory of general relativity in simple terms?

General relativity is a theory of space and time. The theory was published by Albert Einstein in 1915. The central idea of general relativity is that space and time are two aspects of spacetime. Spacetime is curved when there is matter, energy, and momentum resulting in what we perceive as gravity.

What is torsion in general relativity?

In differential geometry, the notion of torsion is a manner of characterizing a twist or screw of a moving frame around a curve. There is a unique connection which absorbs the torsion, generalizing the Levi-Civita connection to other, possibly non-metric situations (such as Finsler geometry).

What effects of the general theory of relativity have been observed?

Some of the consequences of general relativity are: Gravitational time dilation: Clocks run slower in deeper gravitational wells. Precession: Orbits precess in a way unexpected in Newton’s theory of gravity. (This has been observed in the orbit of Mercury and in binary pulsars).

What do you mean by torsion in differential geometry?

In the elementary differential geometry of curves in three dimensions, the torsion of a curve measures how sharply it is twisting out of the plane of curvature. Taken together, the curvature and the torsion of a space curve are analogous to the curvature of a plane curve.

What is the physical meaning of torsion?

A force that twists something is called torsion. In physics, you can calculate torsion using a formula. The turning or twisting force that causes torsion is called torque.

Why is general relativity called relativity?

The general theory gets its name because it also includes gravity, which means it applies to a wider set of circumstances (which scientists call a more “general” set) than the special theory.

What was the first observational result that showed that general relativity was a better description of nature than Newton’s gravity?

In 1919 observation of a solar eclipse confirmed Einstein’s prediction that light is bent in the presence of mass. This experimental support for his general theory of relativity garnered him instant worldwide acclaim.