general relativity
noun
relativity2
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general relativity
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General Relativity
General RelativityA geometrical theory of gravity developed by Albert Einstein in which gravity's effects are a consequence of the curvature of four-dimensional space-time. According to this theory, the energy and momentum of all matter and radiation cause curvature in space-time, in a way similar to the creation of electric and magnetic fields by electric charges and currents. This curvature also opens the possibility that the universe is closed, having finite volume but without any boundary. Among the many experimentally confirmed consequences of General Relativity are the perihelion precession of the planet Mercury, the bending of light in a gravitational field, and the slowing of time in a gravitational field.
general relativity
Americannoun
General Relativity
Scientific
/ jĕn′ər-əl /
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A geometrical theory of gravity developed by Albert Einstein in which gravity's effects are a consequence of the curvature of four-dimensional space-time. According to this theory, the energy and momentum of all matter and radiation cause curvature in space-time, in a way similar to the creation of electric and magnetic fields by electric charges and currents. This curvature also opens the possibility that the universe is closed, having finite volume but without any boundary. Among the many experimentally confirmed consequences of General Relativity are the perihelion precession of the planet Mercury, the bending of light in a gravitational field, and the slowing of time in a gravitational field.
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See also closed universe equivalence principle Special Relativity
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When scientists use general relativity to calculate collisions at extremely high energies near the Planck scale, the math stops working properly and produces infinities.
From Science Daily • May 19, 2026
Proposed by Albert Einstein in 1915, general relativity describes gravity as the bending of spacetime by mass, similar to how a heavy object distorts a stretched surface.
From Science Daily • Apr. 19, 2026
Although Einstein's theory of general relativity has worked extremely well for over a century, it fails under the extreme conditions present at the universe's birth.
From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026
Most current explanations of the Big Bang rely on general relativity along with additional elements introduced to make the models work.
From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026
In Einstein’s theory of general relativity, a zero became a black hole, a monstrous star that swallows entire suns.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
