Spacetime and Einstein 1905 Clerk in Patent Office

Spacetime and Einstein 1905: Clerk in Patent Office Schoolboy Grand Old Man! Space, Time and Dr. Einstein 1

Einstein's Three Great Discoveries 1. He verified the existence of “atoms” by explaining the zig-zag motion of pollen grains in water, noticed 80 years earlier. 1. He proved that light could be understood as little “bullets” of energy (or particles). 2. He developed theory of relativity, in which “moving” observers disagree about simple measurements like time and distance. Discovery #3 showed that space and time are mixed up. . . something that even today seems pretty weird. Space, Time and Dr. Einstein 2

Question: If we disagree about measurements, what can we agree on? Answer: The speed of light is the same for everyone! Some “unintended” consequences: From your point of view moving things seem: Shorter Slower Heavier But the speeds have to be very big to make much difference. You can go faster and faster but never reach the speed of light! Space and time get mixed up. . . Spacetime! Space, Time and Dr. Einstein 3

Fermilab’s Accelerator pushes protons to: 0. 9999995 x (speed of light) (This is about 186, 000 miles per second!) Every second, they go around the 4 -mile ring about 50, 000 times! The protons: • Seem 1000 times heavier. • Seem 1000 times thinner. • Have clocks that run 1000 times slower. 4 MILES Space, Time and Dr. Einstein 4

Space & time are bent, or curved, by matter. www. unmuseum. org This is gravity. Planets, moons and baseballs go “as straight as they can. ” Space, Time and Dr. Einstein 5

May 29, 1919 The eclipse that changed the universe. . . And proved Einstein right! Space is bent by Sun’s gravity! . . . www. unmuseum. org Space, Time and Dr. Einstein 6

Space is bent by matter. Multiple images (like ripples on a pond) Same Galaxy See it twice! Space, Time and Dr. Einstein 7

Spectral lines Cosmic Barcodes neon hydrogen Space, Time and Dr. Einstein 8

Red shift (Object moving away) Blue shift (Object moving toward) www. astro. ucla. edu/%7 Ewright/doppler. htm Space, Time and Dr. Einstein eeeeyaooww!! 9

A tiny spot from the Hubble Space Telescope Every blob is a galaxy with ~100, 000, 000 stars. All are rushing away from us, RED SHIFT. . . expanding Universe! Dr. Hubble (Wheaton) discovered that. BIG BANG 13. 5 billion years ago But not BIG, TINY! Space, Time and Dr. Einstein 10

SPEED TO/FROM US Extrasolar Planets exoplanets. org/neptune_web/neptune_graphics. html TIME Artist’s impression Graphic of the Neptune-Mass companion to GJ 436 Space, Time and Dr. Einstein 11

The Cosmological Constant Einstein’s greatest blunder. . . or perhaps his greatest legacy? a case for the accelerating Universe Space, Time and Dr. Einstein 12

Black Holes From Astronomy Picture of the Day www. phy. mtu. edu/apod/ap 971107. html The Black Hole is invisible, but you can see stuff around it. Space, Time and Dr. Einstein 13

Hubble Uncovers Dust Disk Around a Massive Black Hole Space, Time and Dr. Einstein 14

Black hole candidate in the spiral galaxy Space, Time and Dr. Einstein 15

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