Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes ProCon History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
relativity
Table of Contents
References & Edit History Related Topics
Images & Videos
Explaining E = mc2
curvature and parallel motion
Understand Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, about what is absolute and not relative
invariance of the speed of light Newtonian reference frames simultaneous events length contraction and time dilation curved space-time black hole in M87 experimental evidence for general relativity
For Students
relativity summary
Quizzes
Italian-born physicist Dr. Enrico Fermi draws a diagram at a blackboard with mathematical equations. circa 1950.
Physics and Natural Law
Italian physicist Guglielmo Marconi at work in the wireless room of his yacht Electra, c. 1920.
All About Physics Quiz
Related Questions
Read Next
Albert Einstein
100 Years of General Relativity
Above the clouds 130 nautical miles below, astronaut Mark C. Lee floats freely without tethers as he tests the new Simplified Aid for Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Spacewalk Rescue (SAFER) system, Sept. 16, 1994. Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-64
Gravity: From Apples to the Universe
Albert Einstein in Washington, D.C. c. 1921-1923. Physicist
The Solar Eclipse That Made Albert Einstein a Science Celebrity
Queen Elizabeth II addresses at opening of Parliament. (Date unknown on photo, but may be 1958, the first time the opening of Parliament was filmed.)
All 119 References in “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Explained
Albert Einstein.
Celebrating the Birth of a Genius
Discover
Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that
America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)
Iraqi Army Soldiers from the 9th Mechanized Division learning to operate and maintain M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks at Besmaya Combat Training Center, Baghdad, Iraq, 2011. Military training. Iraq war. U.S. Army
8 Deadliest Wars of the 21st Century
Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1855), founder of the house of Rothschild; lithograph by Friedrich Lieder, c. 1830.
Where Do Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories About the Rothschild Family Come From?
Thanksgiving Celebration Traditional Dinner Setting Food Concept
Why Is Thanksgiving in the U.S. Celebrated on a Thursday?
Woman tied to a ducking stool, a method of punishment by means of humiliation, beating, or death. (cucking stool)
8 Unusual Punishments Inflicted on Women Throughout History
A human Inuit skull in a stone chambered cairn in Ilulissat in Greenland. These ancient graves are pre christian and are at least 2000
14 Tough Questions Answered
New York NY/ USA- November 23, 2018 Hordes of shoppers throng the Macy's Herald Square flagship store in New York looking for bargains on the day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday.
Why Is It Called Black Friday?

relativity: Related Content

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/facts/relativity
Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Photos and Videos

invariance of the speed of light
Newtonian reference frames
simultaneous events
length contraction and time dilation
curved space-time
black hole in M87
experimental evidence for general relativity
Explaining E = mc2
curvature and parallel motion
Understand Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, about what is absolute and not relative
How are gravitational waves applied in science and in everyday life?
Know the different kinds of dimensions and how they are different from one another
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Key People

Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
German-American physicist
Henri Poincaré, 1909.
Henri Poincaré
French mathematician
Bernhard Riemann, lithograph after a portrait, artist unknown, 1863.
Bernhard Riemann
German mathematician
Arthur Stanley Eddington.
Arthur Eddington
British scientist
Hermann Weyl
Hermann Weyl
German-American mathematician
An artist's representation of Penrose tiling
Roger Penrose
British mathematician
Otto Heckmann at the European Southern Observatory's (ESO's) one-metre Schmidt telescope at La Silla, Chile, 1971.
Otto Heckmann
German astronomer
Hermann Minkowski
German mathematician
Tullio Levi-Civita
Italian mathematician
Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock
Russian mathematical physicist

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Italian-born physicist Dr. Enrico Fermi draws a diagram at a blackboard with mathematical equations. circa 1950.
Physics and Natural Law
Italian physicist Guglielmo Marconi at work in the wireless room of his yacht Electra, c. 1920.
All About Physics Quiz