In physics, the term relativity is used in several, related contexts: Since antiquity, people have tried to understand the behavior of matter: why unsupported objects drop to the ground, why different materials have different properties, and so forth. ...
Galileo first developed the principle of relativity, which is the postulate that the laws of physics are the same for all observers.
The term "relativity" should not be confused with relativism. Much work has been done on the theory of relativity. It qualifies as objective science with very concrete, testable consequences, while the purpose of relativism is very different, namely to question all universal truths. On January 7, 1610 Galileo discovered three of Jupiters four largest satellites (moons): Io, Europa, and Callisto. ... Galilean relativity Historically, the first principle of relativity that was formulated was a principle of relativity of uniform motion suggested by the observation that there doesnt seem to be a phenomenon in dynamics that will allow an observer to establish a zero point of velocity, nor a preferred direction. ... Albert Einstein photographed by Oren J. Turner in 1947. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Relativity: The Special and General Theory Albert Einsteins theory of relativity is a set of two scientific theories in physics: special relativity and general relativity. ... A simple introduction to this subject is provided in Special relativity for beginners Special relativity (SR) or the special theory of relativity is the physical theory published in 1905 by Albert Einstein. ... General relativity (GR) is the geometrical theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915. ... Cherenkov effect in a swimming pool nuclear reactor. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Space Attempting to understand the nature of space has always been a prime occupation for philosophers and scientists. ... A watch Attempting to understand Time has long been a prime occupation for philosophers, scientists and artists. ... World line of the orbit of the Earth depicted in two spatial dimensions X and Y (the plane of the Earth orbit) and a time dimension, usually put as the vertical axis. ... Curvature is the amount by which a geometric object deviates from being flat. ... Gravity is the force of attraction between massive particles. ... Gravitation is the tendency of massive objects to accelerate towards each other. ... ...
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It unifies special relativity and Isaac Newton's law of universal gravitation with the insight that gravitation is not viewed as being due to a force (in the traditional sense) but rather a manifestation of curvedspace and time, this curvature being produced by the mass-energy content of the spacetime.
In general relativity, phenomena that in classical mechanics are ascribed to the action of the force of gravity (such as freefall, orbital motion, and spacecraft trajectories) are taken in general relativity to represent inertial motion in a curvedspacetime.
General relativity was developed by Einstein in a process that began in 1907 with the publication of an article on the influence of gravity and acceleration on the behavior of light in special relativity.