Table of Contents
What does General Relativity say about time?
The general theory of relativity predicts a time dilatation in a gravitational field, so that, relative to someone outside of the field, clocks (or atomic processes) go slowly.
Is the past still present?
In short, space-time would contain the entire history of reality, with each past, present or future event occupying a clearly determined place in it, from the very beginning and for ever. The past would therefore still exist, just as the future already exists, but somewhere other than where we are now present.
Is past present and future happening at the same time?
Past, present and future they exist simultaneously, but in different dimensions. But the past does not “disappear”, it simply exists in different parts of space-time. This thought has a basis in the theory of unified space and time, proposed by Albert Einstein in 1915.
Does the past exist in physics?
It does not travel forward through an environment of time, moving from a real point in the past and toward a real point in the future. Instead, the present simply changes. The past and future do not exist and are only concepts used to describe the real, isolated, and changing present.
How does general relativity relate to special relativity?
General relativity generalizes special relativity and refines Newton’s law of universal gravitation, providing a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of space and time or four-dimensional spacetime.
What is relativistic time according to Einstein?
This characteristic of relativistic time has therefore spawned much discussion of the possibility of time travel (see the separate section on Time Travel). According to Einstein, then, time is relative to the observer, and more specifically to the motion of that observer.
What are some predictions of general relativity that differ from physics?
Some predictions of general relativity differ significantly from those of classical physics, especially concerning the passage of time, the geometry of space, the motion of bodies in free fall, and the propagation of light. Examples of such differences include gravitational time dilation, gravitational lensing,…
Why is general relativity considered the most beautiful theory?
In addition, general relativity is the basis of current cosmological models of a consistently expanding universe. Widely acknowledged as a theory of extraordinary beauty, general relativity has often been described as the most beautiful of all existing physical theories.