General Relativity 1

Running Head: GENERAL RELATIVITY

Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity and Its Practical Uses

Nick Fowler

Glen Allen High School

 General Relativity 2

Introduction

Science has been at the forefront of progression for years. Beginning with the scientific

revolution in the 17th and 18th centuries, brilliant minds have sought to describe and explain the

natural and physical world in new ways. Many of these discoveries led to new inventions and

technologies, paving the way for even more exploration, learning, and communication. There

have been many theories comprised about one particular force that attracts objects together, none

of them withholding the test of time, but all of them contributing to a greater purpose. Years of

speculation about how gravity interacts between objects, specifically those in space culminated

with Albert Einstein and his landmark theories of general and special relativity.

In order to apply General Relativity, it is essential to understand where it comes from.

What physicists know about gravity stems from Sir Isaac Newton’s Law of Universal

Gravitation. On one summers day in 1666, Isaac Newton went out for a stroll and came back in

with an idea. His idea would culminate in the creation of The Law of Universal Gravitation, a

landmark theory that is still taught today in schools. The law states that the force of gravity is

equal to the product of two masses divided by the square of the distance between them. Finally,

that number is again multiplied by Newton’s constant (Tong, 2015). However, Newton’s Law of

Universal Gravitation works on relatively small scales, but what happens when objects become

very massive and distances become very large? Newton believed that matter simply pulled on

other matter across empty space. He also failed to account for the speed of light when describing

gravitational pull. Newton was aware that it plays a role in certain calculations but he could not

prove how (Tong, 2015). This is where Newton’s law begins to fall apart and a new equation is

needed to take its place.

Einstein’s Theory and Equation for General Relativity

 General Relativity 3

In 1905, Albert Einstein first published special relativity, which claims that nothing can

travel faster than the speed of light, not even gravitational forces, thus picking up where Newton

left off. Next, in 1915 he presented to the scientific community general relativity, his most

important and significant achievement. With general relativity Einstein re-evaluated the concept

of space and time and concluded that they are an interwoven fabric that creates a three

dimensional field. Einstein’s space time is distorted by planets and stars; whose masses are very

large. The distortion then effects the motion of the planets (Mastin, 2009). For example, in our

solar system, planets orbit around the sun in an ellipse because the sun creates a very large space

time warp due to its mass. Therefore, Einstein hypothesized that gravity is not necessarily a

force, but the physical warping of the space-time continuum.

Einstein’s equation for general relativity is very complex and contains ten equations

within it. It will tell you how a given amount of mass and energy warps space time. In order to

do this Einstein uses a variable that describes how mass, energy, momentum and pressure are

distributed throughout the universe (Tong, 2015). The equation also includes Newton’s constant

and factors in the speed of light. If calculated correctly, it will predict exactly how planets and

other large bodies effect the space-time they sit in (Tong, 2015). However, the formula is so

complex it is only solved by computers that are programmed to do so. Einstein’s equations are

profound and exciting to physicists and scientific minds, and they help explain amazing cosmic

phenomena like black holes and supernovas, but what is their practical use? How can general

relativity make a difference in our technologically advancing world full of amazing feats of

engineering and discovery?

Current Applications of General Relativity

 General Relativity 4

The most relevant and current application for general relativity exists within the Global

Positioning System. In the midst of the Cold War, the United States government spent 10 billion

dollars in an effort to increase the navigational capabilities of the US military. The government

along with NASA launched 24 satellites into Earth’s orbit (Will, 2017). On earth, handheld

receivers detect radio waves from the satellites. The information sent from the satellites allows

user to determine latitude, longitude and altitude to an accuracy of fifteen meters and local tie to

50 billionths of a second (Will, 2017). However, it’s not that simple. The satellites in earth’s

orbit are moving at 14,000 km/hr and circle earth twice per day. The distance from the surface of

earth to the satellites is 20,000 kilometers and they experience gravity that is four times weaker,

because space-time is less curved farther away from earth (Will, 2017). The weaker effects of

gravity suggest that the clocks aboard the satellites tick faster by 38 millionths of a second. To

accurately determine a location, the computer chips aboard the satellites are programmed with

relativity calculations and correct the difference in time (Will, 2017). On earth, the GPS receiver

uses the time at which the satellite signal was emitted, determined by the on-board atomic clock

and encoded into the signal, to calculate correct locations (Will, 2017). Without the correct

programming to account for the effects of relativity, GPS would fail to predict accurate locations

and be useless. Relativistic principles have also been used when guiding the MESSENGER

spacecraft on its path of travel around Mercury.

The MESSENGER mission commenced in August of 2004 with the goal of exploring

Mercury, the smallest, densest and least explored of the planets (Lakdawalla, 2008). Mercury is

the closest planet to the sun, which means that it experiences more of the suns gravitational pull.

The company that was in charge of the navigation KinetX did include relativistic principles when

determining the trajectory of the space craft (Lakdawalla, 2008). When using the Newtonian
 General Relativity 5

Law to calculate distance, the targeted fly by destination was predicted to be missed by 65

kilometers. However, including Einstein’s equation accurately predicted the location of the flyby

with a smaller error of about 5 kilometers total (Lakdawalla, 2008). The inclusion of relativity

when determining flight paths of spacecraft will be essential in the future as companies like

SpaceX attempt to send missions to Mars and beyond.

The Story of High Frequency Gravitational Waves

The immediate future will also bring with it the development of new technologies dealing

with gravitational waves. Einstein’s determination that space-time is a field brought with it

suggestions of the existence of gravitational waves that propagate through it, much like

electromagnetic waves propagate through an electromagnetic field (Tong, 2015). Therefore, the

motions of planets in space create waves that effect other planets. The discovery of gravitational

waves occurred in 2015, exactly 100 years after Einstein produced the theory. This was in part

because natural gravity waves occur at a low frequency, making them very difficult to detect

(Baker, 2003).

While low frequency waves are not very useful, high frequency gravitational waves

would create amazing possibilities for communication, propulsion and imaging. Currently, there

are three HFGW detectors in development and just as many production machines (Baker, 2003).

When the production and detection of HFGW is mastered, it will end the era of fiber optic

cables, wires, and other forms of transponder relays. Gravity waves propagate through all matter

without much absorption and can carry significantly more information across larger distances,

depths and attitudes (Baker, 2003). New forms of propulsion can be introduced along with

HFGW, which will benefit future space travel. By bouncing HFGW off of each other, distortions
 General Relativity 6

can be created in the fabric of space-time allowing ships to be propelled backwards, forwards,

down, or up (Baker, 2003).

Conclusion

This review looks into the General Theory of Relativity from the perspective of a

physicist dealing with the abstract theory and the concrete equation. It also delves into the

practical applications of the theory including GPS and potential future applications with

gravitational waves. General Relativity has deepened humanities understanding of the

interactions between object within our universe and on earth. Einstein’s theory of general

relativity, while abstract in nature, paved a way for major breakthroughs in specific fields of

engineering and communications and will continue to do so in the future.

 General Relativity 7

Reference List

Baker, R.M.L. (2003). What Poincaré and Einstein have wrought: a modern, practical

application of the General Theory of Relativity (the story of high-frequency gravitational

waves). Retrieved from http://www.gravwave.com/ pdf/The%20Story%20of% 20High

Frequency%20Gravitational%20Waves.pdf

Lakdawalla, E. (2008, February 15). Accounting for general relativity at Mercury. Retrieved

from http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2008/1329.html.

Mastin, L. (2009). General theory of relativity. Retrieved from https://www.physicsofthe

universe.com/topics_relativity_general.html

Tong, D. (2015). What is general relativity? Retrieved from https://plus.maths.org/content

/what-general-relativity.

Will, C.M. (2017). Einstein's relativity and everyday life. Retrieved from http://physics

central.com/explore/writers/will.cfm.