Curated category
General relativity
- Black holeA black hole is so compact that its gravity stops everything, including light, from escaping. That boundary of no escape has a name: the event horizon.
- Einstein–de Sitter universeThe Einstein-de Sitter universe is a model of the cosmos that two of the twentieth century's most accomplished physicists built together in 1932, chasing the…
- Einstein's static universeAlbert Einstein published his static universe model in the year 1917. This work arrived shortly after he completed the general theory of relativity.
- Geodesics in general relativityGeodesics in general relativity offer a way to see the entire universe differently. A planet does not follow a curved path around a star because gravity…
- MicroscopeThe Micro-Satellite à traînée Compensée pour l'Observation du Principe d'Equivalence carried a mission to test the universality of free fall.
- Einstein's thought experimentsAlbert Einstein's career was defined by his use of visualized thought experiments as a fundamental tool for understanding physical issues.
- Cosmological constantThe cosmological constant is a number so small it nearly vanishes, yet its presence or absence shapes the fate of the entire universe.
- MICROSCOPEMICROSCOPE was a 300 kilogram class minisatellite built to answer a question that has shadowed physics for centuries. Do two objects of different composition…
- Einstein field equationsThe Einstein field equations sit at the heart of general relativity, a set of ten coupled, nonlinear equations that tell the universe how to curve.
- Vulcan (hypothetical planet)In 1611, the German astronomer Christoph Scheiner reported seeing dark spots on the Sun. He believed these were small planets orbiting closer to the star…