Relativity: Einstein's Greatest Achievement Part 2

   Throughout the universe, there is a perpetuating field called the fabric of space-time. For simplifying purposes, imagine the universe as a thin rubber sheet completely stretched out. In this flat space-time, Einstein proposed that objects with mass made "dents". These dents were the gravity field we feel. So if you placed, say, a bowling ball on this sheet, it would bend downward pretty far. Then toss a marble around this dent so that it is falling towards the bowling ball, but always missing and swinging around via its inertial energy. Now imagine the bowling ball as the Sun and the tiny marble is our Earth. This is a fairly accurate representation of gravity and orbits of objects, but is visualized here as being two-dimensional. Einstein found that matter does not pull objects; rather, space pushes them.

  So Einstein established the theory of curved space-time. This warp of space could be verified by measuring the bending of a light ray around an object of a sufficient gravitational field. The Sun is the nearest object with such a high mass, so an experiment was put forth to use known star positions that were behind the Sun and, during a solar eclipse, measure if the stars appeared to be around the Sun, rather than behind it as illustrated below:

   In 1919, Arthur Eddington led an expedition to a total solar eclipse at the time and found the star light to indeed be deflected from its true position. This verified general relativity and the theory became accepted by the scientific community.

   So back to E=mc². This equation meant that the amount of energy trapped in a tiny atomic nucleus is massive. By splitting an atom, the energy released in a controlled reaction could power our civilization forever. Unfortunately, this equation was weaponized and reincarnated as the atomic bomb, much to Einstein's and many modern physicists' horror. The energy contained in atoms is violently and graphically illustrated in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. But the same power responsible for the bombs is also the reason the stars in the sky shine. Nuclear fusion within the cores of stars is what causes them to light up. But that is a lesson for another post.





  

The genius behind the theory: Albert Einstein and his famous equation

   There is little doubt that relativity was Einstein's greatest achievement. It revolutionized how we view the world. No longer were space and time separate entities, they were forever united under his theories. Throughout the future posts, we will continue to go back to Einstein, but next post will be about Edwin Hubble and the expansion of the universe. I'll post soon, follow the blog and spread the word. Until then, salutations!

Relativity: Einstein's Greatest Achievement Part 1

  Space and time are related. This new view postulated by Albert Einstein formed a monumental shift in the way we see the world. Einstein worked as a poor patent office clerk where he had plenty of time to think about the principles of his theory of special relativity, published first in a paper in 1905. Einstein was big on thought experiments, he had a talent for visualizing hypothetical circumstances in his mind. He was basically a very productive day dreamer.

   To start us off, imagine traveling on the highway at sixty miles per hour (I'm American, I use the arbitrary customary system). In the next lane is a car traveling parallel to you at the exact same speed, the same sixty miles per hour. To an outside observer, perhaps standing on the side of the road, both of you are traveling at sixty MPH. In the car, say you have a radar gun, used to measure the speed of an object relative to the user. Because you are both traveling at the same speed, if you used your radar gun on the car next to you, the speed would measure 0 miles per hour. Einstein knew that speeds measured relative to the one doing the measuring would add or subtract or cancel each other out. So if a car traveling the same direction as you, but going thirty miles per hour faster, then the speed relative to you would be thirty miles per hour. But the speed measured by a road-side observer would be your speed plus the speed of the car going thirty miles per hour faster.

The speed of the green car measured by the red car is twenty miles per hour   

   The speed of light had been accurately taken at the time, around 186,000 miles per second in a vacuum. Einstein then applied the principle described above to light assumed that the speed of light is a constant regardless of those taking the measurements moving relative to the light beam. That means even if you are traveling ninety nine percent the speed of light next to a light beam, the speed you measure is always the same, the exact same 186,000 miles per second (in a vacuum, that is). This had remarkable implications. It meant that in order to measure this same speed, the space around you itself had to distort as well as the time flow relative to an outside observer. The faster you go, the heavier you become. The energy used to travel at such phenomenal speeds was somehow becoming mass, this mass distorted the flow of space and time. This meant that time runs slower in areas of heavier space-time distortion then in areas that are less distorted. This is famously displayed in the Twin Paradox, where twins at birth are separated at birth, one staying on Earth and the other put on a starship traveling near light speed. The twin ages less on the ship then the one on Earth, so when he returns to Earth, there is an age difference despite them being born at the same time. This lead Einstein to the famous equation you can see everywhere you go, E=mc². E meaning energy, m for mass, and c for the speed of light.    So because of the huge number represented by light speed, there is a huge amount of energy for a tiny amount of mass. Not only were space and time intrinsically related, but matter and energy were interchangeable! 

   This also meant that nothing can travel at the speed of light, the energy needed is infinite to propel matter at such a high speed. But since energy is like "liquid" matter and matter is like "solidified" energy, the energy would turn to matter and the infinite amount of matter thereby created is impossible. So the speed of light is the speed limit of the cosmos, nothing can travel faster than it. 

   We have delved into very important concepts of relativity, but due to my time limitations, I must continue this topic later. Keep checking back and feel free to ask questions below. Tell your friends about the blog and become a follower! I'll post again soon, until then, salutations!

Classical Electromagnetism

   Of the four forces of nature that have been harnessed by humans, there is little doubt that electromagnetism has had the greatest impact. It is the reason you're able to read is, the reason you can instantly communicate with your friends, the reason information is accessible instantly via internet, the reason for your lighting, the reason society has advanced so far and looks so different from 100 years ago. Humanity has mastered this force and the results of it, but how did it get started? Who first used it? Why is it caused? What is its future? This category, like the scientific revolution, will be split into several blog posts.

   As the name suggests, electricity and magnetism are different aspects of the same, intrinsically related thing. Early scientists and philosophers were familiar with magnetism when they observed materials like lodestone move certain metals. Electricity was first studied by the Greek scientist Thales when he observed how amber had certain electric qualities (in fact, the word electric comes from the Greek word for amber, elektron). In coming years, the two seemingly dissimilar forces were mostly shrouded in mystery until 1873 when James Clerk Maxwell wrote his famous Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism. He showed mathematically that the interactions found between positive and negative charges (poles) were actually governed by the same  force, electromagnetism. Another physicist, Michael Faraday, a poor and relatively uneducated scientist, found the force lines we see when we place iron shavings near a magnet, now called a Faraday field or Faraday lines. These were both important steps for understanding the force and connecting the two ideas.

   Electromagnetism is essentially the interactions between electrically charged particles. Light is also an electromagnetic emission, as are radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light (color), ultraviolet light, X rays, and gamma rays. The particles of each one of these, the photon, is a massless particle that travels 186,000 miles per second (300,000 kilometers per second) making it the fastest thing in the universe. The relation between electrons and their respective nuclei is explained in electromagnetism as well. And we are all familiar with the story of Benjamin Franklin discovering the relationship between lightning and electricity.

   Overall, we have barely begun to cover this extensive topic, but we will soon see much of the mystery that covers this dynamic and most useful of universal forces. I will probably return to this topic when I have elaborated on quantum mechanics so we can have a true understanding of what this force is. On a personal note, sorry guys for taking so long, moving has taken it all out of me and it has been difficult getting back into the rhythm of things, but I hope to be posting much soon, so keep checking in. Until then, salutations!

UPDATE

   Hi all, I still haven't settled in yet, but I will soon. Until then, salutations!

Scientific Revolution: Part 3

   The late 17th century saw the arrival of Sir Isaac Newton, history's greatest scientist. Newton is most famous for his three laws of motion, the three laws we always learn in school: 1) An object at rest will stay at rest unless a force is applied against it, 2) F (force) = m (mass) x a (acceleration), and 3) For every action, there is an equal, but opposite reaction. These three laws plus his law of gravitation formed the staple of classical mechanics and is still used today. In 1687, his greatest achievement and one of science's most influential books was published, Philosophiæ  Naturalis Principia Mathematica. In it were his three laws and his law of universal gravitation. The success of Principia earned him a spot of fame among scientists of the era. Having already attained the prestigious Lucasian Chair of Mathematics, he was considered a chief authority of the sciences at the time.

   Newton is also famous for his development of calculus, although it was also founded independently by Gottfried Leibniz. Furthermore, we are all familiar with the story of Newton's observations of apples falling from trees motivating him to formulate his law of universal gravitation. This story is considered to be true by most historians, so you can tell that to your friends the next time they claim it's just a legend. After Newton formulated his law, heliocentrism started to become accepted fact by the public. Newton showed through his formulas how the Earth orbited the Sun, seemingly placing the Sun in the center of the universe. But Newton himself noted how the center of gravity seemed to be slightly off of where it was expected to be. Regardless, he viewed this center as unchanging and never moving, but it was still troubling that it was not located in the dead center of the Sun.This was of course accounted for by the tug of the other planets on the Sun, displacing it from its true center, just as the Earth's barycenter (the center of mass between two or more objects) between it and the Moon is located away from the center in the mantle or outer core.

   Newton became a superstar of science for his work. Every educated child can at least tell you he was a really smart scientist. Alexander Pope once wrote:

 Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night;

God said "Let Newton be" and all was light.

   So, the scientific revolution comes to a conclusion here. Newton's influence on our technology has had tremendous impacts on us, his three laws being largely responsible for the impending Industrial Revolution. Anyways, that's the story. On a more personal matter, I may be out for up to a week, I am currently in the middle of a move and I need to get back in the rhythm of things. Next post, I'm hoping for some talks about electricity and magnetism, along with some contributing scientists like Faraday, Clerk-Maxwell, Edison, and Tesla. Until then, salutations!

Scientific Revolution: Part 2

   When we last left off, Copernicus had had his influential book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, published with his fresh new theory of a heliocentric (Sun- centered) universe. As mentioned, his idea was considered blasphemous by the Church who held that God must have placed them in the center of the universe, for the possibility of Earth being one of the planets would have diminished its importance. This view was also held by the public who disregarded Copernicus's work. This is where we pick up....

   Johannes Kepler was a German scientist who supported the Copernican idea. He believed the same as Copernicus, that the center of our cosmos was the Sun. In 1596, 53 years after the theory was put in print, Kepler published his own work, Mysterium Cosmographicum. In it was the first evidence pointing towards a heliocentric universe. Later, he would also develop his three famous laws of planetary motion.

   Around the same time, Galileo Galilei was testing his new and incredible design for his telescope. In his observations of the solar system, he discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter. This was a breakthrough, it showed that Earth was not the only heavenly body that had the ability to be orbited by other objects. This was a blow to geocentrism and it received much opposition from many other astronomers. Later, Galileo would go on to write Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems. In it, he appeared to insult Pope Urban VIII. As a result, he was placed under house arrest where he wrote his influential book, Two New Sciences. He died while still under house arrest.

   Heliocentrism spread throughout Europe as a common notion by the late 1600's. While still not widely accepted, it was beginning to take its roots as a new universal perspective. Well, that's all for today's post. It will be picked up in the next one with Isaac Newton, possibly history's greatest scientist. Until then, salutations!

Scientific Revolution: Part 1

   Before 1543, the Earth was the center of everything in a geocentric universe. Ptolemy's idea was widely accepted as fact and was further pushed onto the masses by the Church, who believed God had made them special in their position in the cosmos. Everything orbited the Earth, not just the Moon. The five planets known at the time, the Sun, and an orb with fixed points (stars) as well. They believed the universe was in perfect balance, with the Earth the center of its order. This is where we begin....

   Nicolaus Copernicus was among the few who first challenged Ptolemy's and Aristotle's concepts of the universe. He was essentially changing the way we would view ourselves forever. In 1543, the year of his death, his book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, was published. In it, he put forth his theory of his heliocentric universe, a groundbreaking step in the direction for our modern view of our place in the cosmos. His proposal was met with vehement opposition from the Church for tearing humanity from its cherished position in the stars. His work was far from being widely accepted fact. It would take the help and provided evidence of many more scientists in the future before the public would even consider the heliocentric universe as a possibility. But this story will be picked up in the next post.

   So there you have it. Nicolaus Copernicus, a true visionary in science and physics. He is the framework for building up to a modern understanding of the universe. Anyways, more of this legendary story later. Until then, salutations!