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General Relativity Questions and Answers Graded A+
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Exam of 8 pages for the course Relativity at Relativity (General Relativity)
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General RelativityGeneral Relativity Theory - answer Einstein’s theory of gravity (accelerated motion)
Especially important for fast-moving objects and very dense objects
Proposed by Einstein in 1915
Predictions of General Relativity - answer1. Space and time are not independent but
form a single entity called "spacetime".
2. Orbits of masses follow shortest pathways (geodesics) in spacetime.
3. Gravity is a geometrical distortion of spacetime, explains why inertial mass (m in F =
ma) same as gravitational mass (m in F = GmM/r2 ).
4. Time slows down when a clock is in a gravitational field.
5. Additional precession of elliptical orbits (Mercury's orbit)
6. Black holes can exist & have a singularity point in their interiors.
7. Accelerating masses generate gravitational waves that propagate at speed of light.
Spacetime - answerSpecial relativity showed that space and time are not absolute nor
separable
Space and time but form a single entity called spacetime
• 4-dimensional
Gravity is a distortion of spacetime
Travelers going in opposite directions in straight lines will eventually meet
Because they meet, the travelers know earth's surface cannot be flat - it must be
curved.
Gravity can cause two space probes moving around Earth to meet.
General relativity says this happens because spacetime is curved.
Einstein's theory of gravity - answerMasses can reshape distort the fabric of spacetime,
much like weights on a rubber sheet
Small mass produces a small divet in the space around it
Marble will orbit the divet
Gravity is a weak force; you need a lot of mass
He turned gravity into a distortion of the space
, Curved space
• Gravity can cause two space probes moving around the earth to meet
• Masses can re-shape (distort) the "fabric" of spaceitme, much like weights on a rubber
sheet
Motion is considered relative but only for no-accelerating reference frames
Equivalence principle - answerThe effects of gravity are exactly equivalent to the effects
of acceleration
Gravity and acceleration are the same thing in effect
Gravity - accelerating reference frame
• Uniting graviy and acceleration
A closed room accelerating through space
You cannot tell the difference between gravity and an accelerating reference frame
Additional precession of elliptical orbits - explains Mercury's orbits
There's no planet Vulcan
Black holes can exist and have a singularity point in their interiors
• All mass is essentially at a point
Accelerating masses generate gravitational waves that propagate at speed of light
Einstein's equivalence principle depends on - answerA sufficiently small region of space
Perspectives in space - answer• A book has a definite three-dimensional shape
• But the book looks different in two-dimensional pictures of the book taken from
different perspectives
• Similarly, space and time look different from different perspectives in spacetime
Perspectives in spacetime - answer• Observers in relative motion do not
share the same definitions of x, y, z,
and t, taken individually
Space is different for different observers.
Time is different for different observers.
but Spacetime is the same for everyone.
Spacetime diagram of a car - answerPlots an object's position in space at different
moments in time
Wordline - answer• A worldline shows an
object's path through space-time in a spacetime diagram
- Vertical worldline: no motion
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