Theory of relativity

The theory of relativity was developed by Albert Einstein in the early 1900s. There are two theories of relativity. The first is special relativity and the second is general relativity.

The theory aims to solve problems which could not be solved by classical physics, or by 19th century physics. Certain observations, like the orbit of Mercury or the way light from distant sources bends as it passes a star, cannot be explained by the physics of 1900. Einstein set out to revise the basic ideas of physics. His work was done in two stages, and each stage has a separate page on this wiki.

• Special relativity
• General relativity

References

• Hawking, Stephen. The Universe in a nutshell. Bantam Books, 2001.

Other websites

• Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity In Words of Four Letters or Less
• New times and new technologies survey the experiments of Sobral and Príncipe. Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
• Relativity Calculator – Learn Special Relativity Mathematics The mathematics of special relativity presented in as simple and comprehensive manner possible within philosophical and historical contexts.