|
Word Gems
exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity
Einstein
return to "Einstein" main-page
We speak of “relativity” as opposed to things which are constant, fixed, or absolute.
there is no absolute lack of motion, neither is there absolute space/distance or fixed amounts of mass or constant rates of time; each of these is "relative"
You may be seated in a chair at the moment with the feeling that you are at rest. However, you may be at rest relative to the floor under your feet, but the Earth is moving, as is the solar system and the Milky Way Galaxy – relative to these larger frames of reference, you are moving at breath-taking speeds.
Seeming anomalies also apply to time. As you sit in your chair, time unfolds at a familiar rate. But if your friend sitting beside you walks to the kitchen, or goes upstairs, or flies in a jet plane, time unfurls differently in each of these cases, relative to how you are experiencing time back in the living room.
but wait - there is something that is constant: the speed of light
Light travels at 186,000 miles/second. This is true for all observers, no matter how fast or slow one might be moving.
|
Are the laws of nature, such as the speed of light, forever fixed and absolute, or do they vary over time?
This question is not presented in high school or college science texts, but, nevertheless, is hotly debated among scientists. It’s a large subject and cannot be adequately addressed here; however, suffice to say:
Science philosophers have pointed out that an unchanging universe of fixed laws is a concept incompatible with evolutionary theory. It’s been suggested that, instead of laws, a better metaphor would be the “habits” of the universe, which are subject to change over time.
See Dr. Rupert Sheldrake’s discussion on how modern science came to accept a notion of fixed “laws.” It’s an extension of the metaphysical assumptions of Pythagoras and Plato who believed in eternal, immutable regularities of nature.
Sheldrake points out in his “Science Set Free” that the speed of light (and other “constants” of science”), over a period of a few decades, has undergone modification, up and down, of many kilometers per second. This anomaly was brushed off as “operator error,” but the measurements were corroborated by many scientists in different parts of the world.
What does this mean? We’re not sure, but it may mean that the speed of “c” may undulate like a wave over a period of time; possibly, within a narrow band. What could cause this? We don’t know, but one possibility is that, as our solar system and galaxy make their way through the universe, certain interference or enhancement might be encountered.
|
because the speed of light is constant, then something else has gotta give
Because 186,000 miles/second is the “speed limit” of the universe, and since this is an absolute rate of speed for light, therefore we find time and space shifting and changing.
However, these alterations will not become apparent, are too small, until one’s motion approaches the speed of light; which is why the effects of “relativity” do not conform to our “common sense.”
These differences in time and space affect an outside observer. Think of the example of sitting in the living room who notices (with the right atomic-clock sensing equipment) that time and space have changed for the friend going to the kitchen or to the jet plane, but the friend walking or flying in the jet -- or in a rocket-ship traveling at half the speed of light -- will not be aware of any changes.
Einstein offered two different kinds of relativity
The Special Theory of Relativity (1905), deals with time and motion, especially at velocities nearing that of light. His famous equation E=mc2 is part of this work.
The General Theory of Relativity (1915), relates to the nature of gravity, the warping of time and space.
|
Editor's last word:
In the literature surrounding Einstein’s physics, a phrase is often used: “inertial frame of reference.” The underlying meaning seems to be this:
Matter is viewed to be “inert”; that is, it can’t move itself, it can’t speed itself up or slow itself down. This is why the classical physicists said that an object will continue at rest or at its present speed and direction – forever – unless acted upon by an outside force. And so, when we see that an object has changed course, that it’s “accelerating,” we can know, with good certainty, that some outside force has impacted its trajectory.
An “inertial frame of reference” speaks to constant uniform motion. Think of being in a quiet jet plane. The people inside the plane, when things are quiet, represent an “inertial frame of reference.” As long as the jet moves at a steady pace, with no wind turbulence, or the like, all will seem normal and uneventful, as if one were sitting on a couch back home. In this state of steady uniformity, the jet is acting like, simulating, “inert” matter, in that, it’s doing what it was set in motion to do. If the plane were flying in outer space, with no hindrances, it would continue on its exact course, at the same speed – forever; just as matter, inert as it is, is wont to do.
For example, this is why the vector of Voyager I, presently 14 billion miles from Earth, is always pegged at a steady 38,000 mph. You can see the records on the internet from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. And it will stay at 38,000 mph, forever, unless some outside force knocks it off course. It's effectively "inert," powerless to change its own path, now living in its own little "inertial frame of reference."
|
|