general relativity

American  

noun

1. Physics. relativity2

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General Relativity Scientific  

/ jĕn′ər-əl /

1. 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.

2. See also closed universe equivalence principle Special Relativity

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Example Sentences

By applying ideas from general relativity to the aftermath of a massive star's explosion, the researchers were able to explain the strange signals seen in this extraordinarily bright event.

From Science Daily

"Practically everything we know about general relativity relies on the interpretation of geodesics," explains Benjamin Koch.

From Science Daily

It is the clearest gravitational wave signal ever recorded from a pair of merging black holes, giving researchers an unusually sharp tool for testing Albert Einstein's theory of gravity, called general relativity.

From Science Daily

His theory of general relativity explains gravity as a bending of spacetime itself.

From Science Daily

Measuring how time behaves on distant worlds provides new tests of Einstein's theories of special and general relativity.

From Science Daily