Einstein & Spacetime!

Albert Einstein

In this lecture you will see what happens when you look at things moving very
fast (at a significant fraction of the speed of light) and you will see that space and
time can be radically changed in a very strong gravitational field. In fact, you will
find that gravity is not really a force!
This revolutionary leap in our understanding of gravity and the nature of space
and time was made by Albert Einstein. In the first two decades of the 20th century,
Einstein laid out a new paradigm of gravity and motion in space and time.

Einstein and Relativity

Einstein (1879 1955) noticed

that Newtons laws of motion are
only correct in the limit of low
velocities, much less than the
speed of light.
Einstein stated:
the fundamental laws of physics do not
depend on your location or motion

Theory

of Special Relativity

Also, revised understanding

of gravity
Theory

of General Relativity

3a

Two consequences of Special Relativity are a stationary observer

will find (1) the length of a fast-moving object is less than if the object
was at rest, and (2) the passage of time on the fast-moving object is
slower than if the object was at rest.
However, an observer inside the fast-moving object sees everything
inside as their normal length and time passes normally, but all of the
lengths in the world outside are shrunk and the outside world's clocks
are running slow.

3b

Time and space are relative to the motion of an observer and they
are not independent of each other. Time and space are connected to
make four-dimensional spacetime (three dimensions for space and
one dimension for time).
This is not that strange---we often define distances by the time it
takes light to travel between two points. For example, one light year
is the distance light will travel in a year. To talk about an event, you
will usually tell where (in space) and when (in time) it happened.
The event happened in spacetime.

3c
THE SPEED OF LIGHT =
1 Billion km/hr

Another consequence of Special Relativity is that nothing can

travel faster than the speed of light. Any object with mass moving
near the speed of light would experience an increase in its mass.
That mass would approach infinity as it reached light speed and
would, therefore, require an infinite amount of energy to accelerate it
to light speed. The fastest possible speed any form of information or
force (including gravity) can operate is at the speed of light.
The three strange effects of Special Relativity (shrinking lengths,
slowing time, increasing mass) are only noticeable at speeds that are
greater than about ten percent of the speed of light. Numerous
experiments using very high-speed objects have shown that Special
Relativity is correct.

 The speed of light is nature's speed limit!

And

speeding tickets will be issued to violators!

3d

Special Relativity

Time is not completely separate from and independent of

space as you would ordinarily assume. In his Special
Relativity theory, Einstein assumed that the fundamental laws
of physics do not depend on your location or motion.
Two people, one in a stationary laboratory and another in a
laboratory aboard a train or rocket moving in a straight line at
uniform speed, should get the same results in any
experiment they conduct. In fact, if the laboratory in the train
or rocket is soundproof and has no windows, there is no
experiment a person could conduct that would show he/she
is moving.

Special Relativity (2)

Einstein found that what you measure for length, time, and mass depends
on your motion relative to a chosen frame of reference. Everything is in
motion. As you sit in your seat, you are actually in motion around the center
of the Earth because of the rapid rotation of the Earth on its axis. The Earth
is in motion around the Sun, the Sun is in orbit around the center of our
Galaxy, the Galaxy is moving toward a large group of galaxies, etc.
When you say something has a velocity, you are measuring its change of
position relative to some reference point which may itself be in motion.
All motion is relative to a chosen frame of reference. That is what the
word relativity means in Einstein's Relativity theories.

Special Relativity also predicts that matter can be converted into energy
and energy in to matter.
By applying Newton's second law of motion to the energy of motion for
something moving at high speed (its ``kinetic energy''), you will find that
energy = mass (speed of light)2. More concisely, this is Einstein's famous
equation, E = mc2.
The energy E of a motionless particle is not zero, rather its energy at rest
is described by the equation above!
The C is the speed of light and the M0 is the mass of the particle when
at rest. This simple formula suggests that mass and energy are related and
we will see later in the semester how nature can convert one into the other
inside stars!
For example, suppose that we convert 1 kg of matter into energy, that
would result in the release of an amount of energy equal to a 20-megaton
nuclear bomb!

Einstein deciding on which mathematical terms to use

Eureka!
E=

2
MC

Einstein had put forward two postulates that are encapsulated in

what is called The Special Theory of Relativity.

These two postulates essentially imply that

whenever you move relative to someone else
you enter into a distinct temporal universe.
You will measure time differently from the
other person and you will measure lengths
differently from the other person.
Things, however, will conspire in such a way
that everybody will measure exactly the same
value for the speed of light. Things will also
conspire to never allow causes to precede
effects. Special relativity preserves the
causality of all situations.

Time Dilation
The different temporal universes that the theory of Special Relativity
demands for moving observers will have times such that any moving
observer's clock always ticks with dilated intervals. Hence a moving
clock will always seem to run slow. Your clock, in your rest frame, will
tick away, accumulating time much more rapidly than a clock in a fast
moving spaceship passing by.

It is for this reason that

people connect the time
dilation effect with
future time travel.
All you have to do is
leave home in a very
fast spaceship. Travel
for a certain distance
and then return to your
home base. You will
then be going into a
future.

10

In the picture below a rocket ship reference frame travels at 99% of the
speed of light relative to some stay-at-home frame. The clock on the
moving frame runs slower.

Less time is shown on the

moving clock since its
tick intervals have grown
'fatter' as it achieved its
high speed.

11

TWIN PARADOX
The twin paradox arises from the time dilation effect. Say there are
twin brothers. One brother stays at home in a slow speed environment.
The other brother goes away in an ultra-fast spaceship. The "slow"
twin ages considerably (loses his hair). The younger twin returns still
young (having all of his hair). This situation is called the twin paradox.

12

In the example
shown here, the
fast twin leaves
the Earth at 75%
of the speed of
light. He leaves
as a baby. When
he returns he has
aged 37 years.
The stay-at-home
twin has aged 57
years.

Time dilation is a relative effect. Each person sees the other person as moving.
Hence each person sees the other person's clock run slow. Each person is
legitimately allowed to claim that the other person's clock is the slow clock.
The reason why the fast twin gets younger is that he does something that the
stay-at-home doesn't do. To turn around, he has to slow down, turn, and then
speed up again to get back to his home. It is this action, that the stay-at-home
twin doesn't experience, that forces the time difference between the twins to be
non-reciprocal.

13

Time dilation effect on GPS satellites

14

The time dilation effect is taken into

account every day to help keep the atomic
clocks on the 24 Global Positioning
System (GPS) satellites that encircle the
Earth in sync with Earth-based atomic
clocks.
Since the satellites are moving relative to
the atomic clocks that are on the ground
they have dilated time intervals. The Global
Positioning System requires that the
satellite clocks be coordinated to a very
high accuracy.
This is absolutely necessary to predict
where the location is of people using the
GPS receivers on the Earth's surface. Even
though the special relativity effect is very
very small, the atomic clocks are accurate
enough to be affected by the time dilation
effect.

General Relativity
A new description of gravity
Postulate:
Equivalence Principle:
Observers can not
distinguish locally
between inertial forces
due to acceleration and
uniform gravitational
forces due to the
presence of massive
bodies.

15

16

Equivalence

(1)

Part of Einstein's

genius was his ability to

look at ordinary things
from a whole new
perspective and logically
follow through on the
consequence of the
insights he gained from
his new perspective.

He proposed an experiment involving two elevators: one at rest on the ground on the
Earth and another, far out in space away from any planet, moon, or star, accelerating
upward with an acceleration equal to that of one Earth gravity (9.8 meters/second2).
(Modern readers can substitute ``rocket ship'' for Einstein's elevator.)

If a ball is dropped in the elevator at rest on the Earth, it will accelerate toward
the floor with an acceleration of 9.8 meters/second2. A ball released in the
upward accelerating elevator far out in space will also accelerate toward the
floor at 9.8 meters/second2. The two elevator experiments get the same result!

17

Equivalence

18
(2)

Einstein used this to formulate the

equivalence principle that would be the
foundation of General Relativity.
It states that ``there is no experiment a
person could conduct in a small volume of
space that would distinguish between a
gravitational field and an equivalent
uniform acceleration''.
A consequence of this is that if an
elevator is falling freely toward the ground
because of gravity, an occupant inside will
feel weightless just as if the elevator was
far away from any planet, moon, or star.
No experiment would help you distinguish
between being weightless far out in space
and being in free-fall in a gravitational
field.

Oh no!
Im in
trouble!

19

Gravity and Acceleration

According to Einstein, gravity is

either an acceleration or a distortion
in space and time.
When accelerating, you feel an
inertial force.
When on the surface of a planet,
you feel gravitational forces.

Curvature in Spacetime

20

Gravity according to general relativity:

Mass tells spacetime how to curve, and the curvature of

spacetime (gravity) tells mass how to accelerate.
(or more simply put
A gravitational field is a curvature of spacetime caused by the presence of a mass).

Curvature in Spacetime

20a

Matter distorts spacetime :

Matter distorts spacetime like weights on a taut rubber sheet.

The greater the mass, the greater the distortion of spacetime.

21

Mass and Spacetime

22

According to Newton, all bodies with mass exert a gravitational

force on each other.
even Newton had problems accepting this concept of action at a distance

General relativity removes this concept.

mass causes spacetime to curve
the greater the mass, the greater the distortion of spacetime
curvature of spacetime determines the paths of freely moving objects

Orbits can now be

explained in a new way.
an object will travel on as
straight a path as possible
through spacetime

The Strength of Gravity

23

The more that spacetime curves, the stronger gravity becomes.

Two basic ways to increase gravity/curvature of spacetime:
increased mass results in greater curvature at distances away from it
curvature is greater near the objects surface for denser objects
for objects of a given mass, this implies smaller objects

All three objects impose the

same curvature at a distance.
White dwarf imposes steeper
curvature at Suns former
position.
Black Hole punches a hole
in the fabric of spacetime.
Nothing can escape from
within the event horizon of
a Black Hole.

24

Other Effects of General Relativity

Perihelion advance
(in particular, of
Mercurys orbit)

25

Precession of Mercurys Orbit

26

Newtons law predicted that the orbit of

Mercury should change.
due to gravitational influence of the planets
this change was measured in the 1800s
but Newtons law could not account for the
exact change which was observed
the discrepancy between observation and
theoretical prediction was real

Einstein knew of this discrepancy and used general relativity to

explain it.
Newtons law assumed that time was absolute & space was flat
but when Mercury is closest to the Sun, time runs more slowly & space is
more curved

Predictions of general relativity matched the observations exactly!

Solar Eclipse Experiment

The bending of light by the gravitation of massive
bodies has indeed been observed:
During total solar
eclipses:
The positions of
stars apparently
close to the sun
are shifted away
from the position
of the sun.

New description of gravity as

curvature of spacetime!

27

Bending of Light under Gravity

28

Light will always travel at a constant velocity.

therefore, it will follow the straightest possible path through spacetime
if spacetime is curved near a massive object, so will the trajectory of light

diagram:

29

Gravitational lensing:

30

Lensing Basics

A Normal Lens

Bending of light

31

32

Gravitational lensing:

Gravitational Lensing

Double image

Einstein Ring

33

34

Lensing of a Castle

The Smithsonian on the Mall

35

Lensing of a Castle

And we place a Black Hole with the mass of

Saturn in the middle of the Mall

Gravitational Lensing

36

Today, more examples of

gravitational lensing have
been seen.

An Einstein Cross

An Einstein Ring
galaxy directly behind a galaxy

37

The various types of

gravitational lenses usually
involve light paths from quasars
& galaxies being bent by
intervening galaxies & clusters.

Science Fact or Fiction?

38

Do the theories of relativity prohibit interstellar travel?

we can not travel faster than the speed of light (c)!
but what if we made the distance to our destination shorter?

We might tunnel through

hyperspace in a wormhole.
A wormhole connects two
distant points in the Universe.
Or perhaps we could warp
spacetime so that two
locations of our choosing
could touch momentarily.

None of these ideas is prohibited by our current understanding of physics.

Most scientists are pessimistic about the possibilities.
wormholes would also make time travel possible, with its severe paradoxes
For the moment, the Universe is safe for science fiction writers!

Wormholes and Time Machines

Einstein discovered that GTR
predicts the possibility that black
holes could connect our universe
to another parallel universe via
an Einstein-Rosen bridge.
Such a bridge is called a
wormhole.
A wormhole also could be
connected to another part of our
own universe.
However, theories suggest that
these wormholes collapse as soon
as they are formed.

39

Wormholes and Time Machines

40

Also, since traversing a wormhole means that you are

emerging at a different spacetime domain than the one
you started with, you could start at present time and
emerge at a time in the past (or the future) - time travel!

What have we learned?

41

What is the primary topic of the general theory of

relativity?
The general theory of relativity is primarily a theory of
gravity, stating that the force of gravity arises from
distortions of spacetime.

What is spacetime?
Spacetime is the four-dimensional combination of space and
time that forms the fabric of our universe.

What have we learned?

42

What is the equivalence principle?

The effects of gravity are exactly equivalent to the effects of
acceleration.

What do we mean by dimensions?

Each dimension represents an independent direction of possible
motion. In three-dimensional space, the three dimensions of
length, width, height are perpendicular to one another. A fourdimensional space has a fourth dimension perpendicular to all
three of the others. We cannot visualize this, but it can still exist.

Does spacetime differ for different observers?

No. Both time and space differ for observers in different
reference frames, but the combination of spacetime is the same
for everyone.

What have we learned?

43

How does mass affect spacetime?

Mass causes spacetime to curve, and the curvature of spacetime
determines the paths of freely moving masses.

How would an ordinary star, a white dwarf, and a black

hole of the same mass differ in spacetime?
Because all three objects have the same mass, far from their surfaces
they would affect spacetime in precisely the same way. Up close,
however, the white dwarf would distort spacetime much more than
the ordinary star, and the black hole would distort spacetime so
much that it essentially would form a bottomless pita true hole in
the universe.

According to general relativity, how does gravity affect

time?
Time runs slower in places where gravity is stronger.

What have we learned?

44

How have experiments and observations verified the

predictions of the general theory of relativity?
Observations of the change of Mercurys orbit match that
predicted by Einsteins theory. Observations of stars during
eclipses and photos of gravitational lensing provide spectacular
confirmation of the idea that light can travel curved paths through
space. Gravitational redshifts observed in the light of objects
with strong gravity confirm the slowing of time predicted by
general relativity.

New Terms
natural motion
violent motion
acceleration of gravity
momentum
mass
acceleration
velocity
inverse square law
field
circular velocity
geosynchronous satellite
center of mass
closed orbit
escape velocity
open orbit
angular momentum
energy
joule (J)

special relativity
general theory of relativity

End of lecture unit!