[Special Issue News] Einstein's milestones

Einstein's general theory of relativity has survived a tumultuous century, enduring wars between nations and between scientists and triumphant confirmations and puzzling new implications of the theory. Early on, World War I put kinks in scientists' plans to test general relativity. Despite this setback, highly anticipated experiments thrilled Einstein by confirming his theory. But passionate arguments soon erupted about the implications of the theory. Could black holes really exist? Were gravitational waves producing ripples in spacetime? Scientific debate finally resolved these conundrums, and today the theory is essential to technology we use in our daily lives. GPS could not function without careful accounting for the effects of relativity on satellites.
Author: Emily Conover

Source: Science: This Week - March 6, 2015 Category: Science Authors: Emily Conover Source Type: research