AndrewK

**__The General Theory of Relativity __**

In today's society, GPS, NASA, and the military all incorporate the theory of relativity in everyday life.

__Table of Contents__ 1.1 - GPS and The Theory of Relativity 1.2 - NASA and The Theory of Relativity 1.3 - Military and The Theory of Relativity 1.4 - Conclusion and Application to Society
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__Background Notes __ - Theory of Relativity developed by Albert Einstein - Developed to determine the relationship between matter and energy - E=mc(squared) - The theory explains gravity in terms of the curvature of four-dimensional space-time - Theory proves that light is affected by gravitational forces - Theory applies mainly to particles in acceleration - Theory demonstrates that time is linked to matter and space, and is a continuum - Einstein pieced together information from the previous principle of relativity (Known as Galilean Relativity) created by Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo (Dine 1)

__1.1 - GPS and The Theory of Relativity__ GPS was developed by the United States Department of Defense, originally to benefit the U.S. military. Now with further advances in technology, Earth is now surrounded by 24 satellites transmitting signals to GPS systems both to citizens and military operatives. GPS helps civilian lifestyle by navigating around areas, having the GPS device tell them their exact location on the Earth. Military operatives everywhere, on land, sea, and air use GPS a great deal to pinpoint where they are and where the enemy may lie. The satellites in orbit are roughly 20,000 km from the ground and each satellite has an atom clock inside, which clicks at about 1 billionth of a second, all programmed into a microcomputer, which gives it precise accuracy (Pogge 1). GPS works like this: The satellites in orbit are distributed so that at least 4 of them are visible from anywhere on the Earth. A GPS receiver determines its bearings by comparing time signals tracing from the satellites, and triangulating off of each known satellite position (Pogge 1). The Theory of Relativity correlates to GPS through matter and energy in space, people being the matter and the orbit at 14,000 km/hr being the energy. Everyone has used GPS, or will in the future, and is a great benefit from physics. __1.2 - NASA and The Theory of Relativity__ With the United States being one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world, space navigation has become an explorative competition for finding out more traces to foreign planets going deeper into the space-time continuum. Physics is very important in the daily lives of a NASA operative because precise measurements about speed, aerodynamics, acceleration and gravity must be defined in order to be successful. In one of Newton's laws of motion, the amount of acceleration will depend on the mass of the object, and the opposing forces pulling towards earth (Dine 1). The speed and acceleration need to be obtained to fly safely into space are crucial to the rest of the aircraft; what it is made out of to endure heat and freezing, how much gasoline to use, and the maximum weight it could have. The Theory of Relativity helps us understand the relationships between mass and energy, especially when traveling into an endless continuum. __1.3 - Military and The Theory of Relativity__ The engineers who designed GPS also had an effect upon modern technology in the battlefield. The application of the Theory of Relativity to modern day warfare gives a great advantage to those who use it. Manufacturing more advanced, and powerful weapons and weapon systems would definitely prove to be a positive for intelligence agents and soldiers on missions. The relationship between mass and energy would have to be extremely precise when designing new weapons; either launching bombs/missiles, or shooting bullets all have an inertial application of Einstein's Theory and would prove to be an advantage. The Theory of Relativity sets a basis on how modern day physics is occuring, and how it will happen in the future. __**1.4 - Application to Society**__ Albert Einstein's Theory of Relativity has benefitted the world, by giving society an idea of how the space-time continuum works, and how to increase the knowledge of modern day sciences with the infinite universe. Some scientific advancements through society include the use of GPS navigational systems, has helped NASA and corresponding space associations, and is used frequently in militaries around the world. Once said by Einstein, "We shall...assume the complete physical equivalence of a gravitational field and the corresponding acceleration of the reference frame. This assumption extends the principle of relativity to the case of uniformly accelerated motion of the reference frame" (Davidson 1). Einstein therefore tied together and improved Galileo's equivalence principle and stated "that all the laws of physics, not just the law of gravity, are the same in all small regions of space reguardless of their relative motion or acceleration" (Davidson 1). This was proven to be true, shaping the industries for a more scientific approach into the future. GPS, NASA, and militaries everywhere all depend on Einstein's master equation to determine unbelievable aspects of physics that we now incorporate within our society today, and will dictate our future science advancements as well.

__Works Cited __

Alexander, Stephon. "NOVA | Einstein's Big Idea | The Equation Today: Quantum Contemplations | PBS." __PBS__. 27 Jan. 2009. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/toda-alexander.html A personal account with physics written by a common day scientist broadened my knowledge about several different areas of physics dealing with the unknown universe.  <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;">Davidson, C.. "General Theory of Relativity." __Encyclopedia of Science__. 27 Jan. 2009. <span style="font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;">http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/G/genrel.html This website defined the Theory of Relativity for me, giving me extensive knowledge about how it was derived. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;">Dine, Micheal. "NASA - Relativity." __NASA - Home__. 27 Jan. 2009. <span style="font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;">http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/relativity_worldbook.html This website provided me with background information about the Theory of Relativity, and the different functions of it. Google Images Google Images provided pictures and captions used within this wiki. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;">"GPS and Relativity." __The Ohio State University Department of Astronomy__. 27 Jan. 2009. <span style="font-family: Tahoma, Geneva, sans-serif;">http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/~pogge/Ast162/Unit5/gps.html This website gave me insight on how the Theory was applied in modern day society, and exactly how GPS is constructed and used worldwide.