How to understand Einstein’s relativity without math

120 years ago, a revolution took place in physics that — to an outsider — might seem like an inconsequential matter. 120 years ago, Einstein put forth his special theory of relativity, asserting that neither space nor time were absolute quantities, but rather the answers you’d get for measuring distances, positions, and durations would be dependent on your location and relative motion. 

The only absolute, Einstein contended, was the speed of light in a vacuum. This was indeed a revolutionary statement, but the formulas for working out how distances and durations changed in a velocity-dependent way, especially as you approached the speed of light, had already been worked out over a decade prior: the Lorentz transformations.

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Einstein’s overlooked idea could explain how the Universe really began

A bold new study from researchers in Spain and Italy reimagines the universe’s earliest moments, proposing that gravitational waves—not inflation—sparked the cosmos into being. Using advanced computer simulations, the team connects general relativity with quantum mechanics in a simple, verifiable model based on De Sitter space. Credit: AI/ScienceDaily.com




Researchers have unveiled a new model for the universe’s birth that replaces cosmic inflation with gravitational waves as the driving force behind creation. Their simulations show that gravity and quantum mechanics may alone explain the structure of the cosmos. This elegant approach challenges traditional Big Bang interpretations and revives a century-old idea rooted in Einstein’s work.

How did the universe come into existence, and what early processes shaped everything that followed? A new study published in Physical Review Research takes aim at this fundamental question. Scientists from Spain and Italy have introduced a model that reimagines what happened moments after the universe was born. Their approach could upend long-standing ideas about the forces and events that governed the universe's earliest evolution.

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What Is Space-Time? Breaking Down Einstein's Big Idea

Oftentimes, we think of space as an endless, mostly empty vacuum, a silent backdrop where planets, stars, and galaxies play out their dance. We also think of time as something separate, a steady ticking that carries us from one moment to another, from past to the present, and into the future. 

However, modern physics demonstrates that these two ideas are not so easily kept separate from each other. In fact, space and time are woven into a single fabric: space-time. Albert Einstein's special relativity revealed that space and time adjust themselves depending on how you move.

Space-time is not just a backdrop where celestial objects are the main players. It's real, dynamic, and it shapes our universe. Imagine it as an invisible construction that holds everything in place. It guides how objects in the universe move and how the events unfold.

Without space-time, one could not talk about where or when. Let's explore how Einstein's ideas reshaped our understanding of reality and why they remain some of the most profound ideas in science.

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120 year old fundamental law of Universe that Einstein got wrong has been proven

A physics professor from the Universidad de Sevilla (University of Seville) has tackled a problem in thermodynamics that has been around for more than a century, offering a new proof that also challenges an idea once put forward by Albert Einstein.

José María Martín Olalla’s study, published in The European Physical Journal Plus, focuses on the Nernst heat theorem. This theorem, first stated in 1905, says that as temperature gets closer to absolute zero, the exchange of entropy (a measure of disorder) also gets closer to zero. 

In his paper, Martín Olalla shows that the theorem can be proven using only the second law of thermodynamics, which says that the entropy of the universe always increases.

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Teaching a Kid to Think Like a Genius

I watched a boy in my third-grade class adjust his catapult's arm for the fifth time as he measured distances and recorded numbers on his data sheet. This was a personalized learning project, a time dedicated to intrinsic curiosity. 

I gave no instructions on physics or engineering. He was discovering the relationship between arm length and distance entirely through his own experiments. "The longer arm launches farther!" he announced, super excited. Other students immediately wanted to try the same experiment.

I realized he was doing exactly what Leonardo da Vinci did 500 years ago in a basement laboratory in Milan. Leonardo would dig up cadavers, and then trace muscular structures while his incomplete Last Supper fresco waited upstairs. 

Most artists would never connect anatomical dissection with religious painting. Leonardo saw them as inseparable. The muscles and tendons he traced taught him how human bodies moved and expressed emotion. He would eventually use this knowledge to paint the disciples' lifelike reactions to Christ's betrayal.

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Scientists discover rare planet at the edge of the Milky Way using space-time phenomenon predicted by Einstein

An artist's illustration of the Gaia space telescope, which first spotted the microlensing event in 2021.
(Image credit: ESA/ATG medialab; background: ESO/S. Brunier)

Using gravitational microlensing, scientists have discovered a rare, large planet at the edge of the Milky Way. The planet is only the third to be found on the outskirts of our galaxy's dense central bulge.  Astronomers have used a space-time phenomenon first predicted by Albert Einstein to discover a rare planet hiding at the edge of our galaxy.


The exoplanet, dubbed AT2021uey b, is a Jupiter-size gas giant located roughly 3,200 light-years from Earth. Orbiting a small, cool M dwarf star once every 4,170 days, the planet's location is remarkable — it is only the third planet in the entire history of space observation to be discovered so far away from our galaxy's dense center.

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Physicist Solves 120-Year-Old Thermodynamics Puzzle and Corrects Einstein

A thermodynamics mystery dating back to 1905 has been resolved by University of Seville professor José María Martín-Olalla, who demonstrates that the Nernst theorem is inherently tied to the second law of thermodynamics. His reinterpretation corrects a long-standing assumption made by Einstein, reframing how physicists understand the behavior of entropy near absolute zero. Credit: SciTechDaily.com

The paper argues that the third principle of thermodynamics follows from the second principle, rather than being a separate or independent concept.

Professor José María Martín-Olalla of the University of Seville has published a paper addressing a thermodynamics problem that has remained unresolved for 120 years. In doing so, he corrects an idea proposed by Albert Einstein more than a century ago.

The paper links Nernst’s theorem, an experimental observation from 1905 stating that entropy exchanges approach zero as temperature approaches zero, directly to the second principle of thermodynamics. Published in The European Physical Journal Plus, the study extends the implications of the second principle, which states that entropy in the universe tends to increase.

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New type of quantum entanglement will transform real-world technology

Researchers have long studied quantum entanglement to understand how photons appear to influence each other instantaneously.

This peculiar link first emerged when Albert Einstein pointed to what he called “spooky action at a distance,” suggesting that this peculiar behavior contradicted intuitive views of cause and effect.  The conversation around these phenomena has evolved through the decades.

Ph.D. student Amit Kam and Dr. Shai Tsesses from Technion are now adding a twist to this story by exploring surprising effects in photons that occupy incredibly tight spaces.

Understanding quantum entanglement
Quantum entanglement is a strange but very real phenomenon where two particles become linked in such a way that their states depend on each other, even when separated by huge distances.

Imagine you take a pair of gloves, put one in a box, and send it to the other side of the universe. The moment you open the box and see a left glove, you instantly know the other box has the right one.

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Gravity is the spawn of entropy

For centuries, scientists have been trying to unify two fundamental theories – Einstein’s general theory of relativity, which describes gravity and cosmic scales, and quantum mechanics, which governs the world of particles. But their incompatibility remains one of the unsolved problems of modern physics. The breakthrough may come from a new concept of quantum gravity, which arises from entropy – chaos in a system. This idea not only brings us closer to a “Theory of Everything” but also offers a solution to the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, which make up 95% of the Universe. The study is published in the journal Physical Review D.

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When Did Time Begin?

Our universe is expanding, so it must have been smaller in the past. Indeed, if we rewind our cosmological movie, we see the universe shrinking back almost to a point – the big bang – some 13.8 billion years ago. Is this when time began? Alas, things aren’t so simple. 

Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity tells us that the backdrop of the universe is a fluid continuum, space-time, in which neither space nor time has an absolute meaning. What’s more, at the big bang, space-time distorts into a point of infinite density called a singularity. We can’t say this is where time begins, only that it marks a rupture beyond which we cannot extrapolate.


Even so, some cosmologists believe there was a “before” the big bang. Some suggest that another universe preceded ours, and that this one contracted and then “bounced” at the big bang, resulting in the expanding era we now observe. 

More radically, cosmologist Roger Penrose has proposed that new universes can emerge from ones that don’t contract, through a dramatic “rescaling” of all space-time.     READ MORE...

theory of relativity with quantum mechanics

For over a century, quantum mechanics and Einstein’s general relativity have stood as the cornerstones of modern physics, yet their unification remains one of science’s greatest challenges.


Now, researchers at University College London (UCL) have introduced a groundbreaking theory that challenges conventional approaches to this problem.


Quantum gravity seeks to bridge the gap between the microscopic world, where quantum mechanics governs particle behavior, and the macroscopic realm, where gravity shapes spacetime.


Traditionally, physicists have assumed that Einstein’s theory must be modified to fit within the quantum framework. However, UCL researchers propose a striking alternative: a "postquantum theory of classical gravity" that reexamines the fundamental relationship between these two domains.     READ MORE...

Air Engine Created

Why do countries launch so many rockets into space? It’s not just for exploration or for taking pictures of the moon and stars. You rely on satellites that orbit the Earth for almost every aspect of your daily life. You get directions from GPS signals that ping from satellites, and your cellphone sends and receives messages that way too. By launching a rocket with an engine fueled by methane and oxygen, China will be able to send rockets into Earth’s orbit at 18,000 miles per hour without refueling.

A new type of rocket fuel could launch China farther into space, beating its competition by a million miles
China has announced the successful launch of ZQ-2 Y2, the nickname of the country’s first liquid methane and liquid oxygen-fueled spacecraft. American scientists are worried about catching up to this breakthrough in aerospace engineering. Chinese companies and government organizations work hard to be at the forefront of technological innovation, and this event proves that their efforts pay off. Using this ne, ZQ-2w fuel, China could save millions of dollars and reduce some of the emissions created when launching rockets.

Liquid methane and liquid oxygen are not easy to create. To turn these gases into liquids, scientists have to force them through metal tubes submerged in super-cold liquid nitrogen. The freezing temperature slows down the gas particles, turning the substance into a liquid. Liquid methane and liquid oxygen burn much cleaner than traditional rocket fuel, which is made from petroleum.      READ MORE...

A Quirk in SPACE-TIME

Gravitational lensing of galaxy cluster Abell 2390. (ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre (CEA Paris-Saclay), G. Anselmi)



The fabric of space and time is not exempt from the effects of gravity. Plop in a mass and space-time curves around it, not dissimilar to what happens when you put a bowling ball on a trampoline.


This dimple in space-time is the result of what we call a gravity well, and it was first described over 100 years ago by Albert Einstein's field equations in his theory of general relativity. To this day, those equations have held up. We'd love to know what Einstein was putting in his soup. Whatever it was, general relativity has remained pretty solid.


One of the ways we know this is because when light travels along that curved space-time, it curves along with it. This results in light that reaches us all warped and stretched and replicated and magnified, a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing. This quirk of space-time is not only observable and measurable, it's an excellent tool for understanding the Universe.         READ MORE...

Einstein Vindicated

Albert Einstein’s prediction about how gravity behaves has been tested on a cosmic scale. Albert Einstein’s prediction about how gravity behaves has been supported by an international team of researchers who studied how the force acts on cosmic scales.

Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) researchers found that the way galaxies cluster is consistent with our standard model of gravity and the predictions from Einstein’s theory of General Relativity.

A complex analysis of the first year of data from DESI provides one of the most stringent tests yet of General Relativity and how gravity behaves at cosmic scales.

Looking at galaxies and how they cluster throughout time reveals how cosmic structure grows, which lets DESI test theories of modified gravity – an alternative explanation for our universe’s accelerating expansion.

DESI is managed by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). UK involvement in DESI includes the University of Portsmouth, Durham University, and UCL as full member institutions, together with individual researchers at the universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, St Andrews, Sussex, and Warwick.    READ MORE...

Hidden Effect of Relativity

For many decades, the often strange and counterintuitive effects of Einstein’s theory of special relativity, including length contraction and time dilation, have been known. However, a new theory is poised to reveal another of its unusual aspects: its long-hidden influence on fluids.

The effect, dubbed “fluid thickening,” is detailed in a new paper by physicist Alessio Zaccone, which outlines a unique microscopic theory involving fluid viscosity and its influence under relativistic conditions. 

By employing a framework that combines elements from relativistic equations with current theory underlying the displacement of particles, Zaccone’s theory shows how fluid viscosity might behave under conditions nearing the speed of light.    READ MORE...

Quantum Sensing

Researchers are exploring the potential to detect gravitons using quantum sensing technologies in hope of linking quantum mechanics with Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Advanced quantum sensing tools, such as those used at LIGO, detect gravitational waves by overcoming quantum noise through techniques like “squeezing.” These tools could also support graviton detection by providing a more precise way to measure gravitational disturbances in lab environments.

While technical and philosophical challenges remain, progress in quantum sensing may narrow the gap between quantum mechanics and gravitational theory, and provide new insights into phenomena like black holes and the Big Bang.

While each tasked with the important role of numerically explaining our reality, gravity and quantum mechanics tend to mix like oil and water — they have long presented a profound challenge to unify in the domain of physics. Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, established in 1915, describes gravity as the curvature of space-time. In contrast, quantum mechanics suggests that forces are mediated by particles.   READ MORE...

Major Leap Towards TIME TRAVEL

An international research team has reignited interest by proposing that tachyons are indeed possible within the framework of Einstein’s special theory of relativity. (CREDIT: Pobytov/Getty Images)

The concept of the tachyon, a theoretical particle that travels faster than light, has fascinated physicists and sparked decades of theoretical exploration. Originally conceived as a solution to certain quantum and relativity puzzles, tachyons remain hypothetical.


Yet, a new study by an international research team has reignited interest by proposing that tachyons are indeed possible within the framework of Einstein’s special theory of relativity—a finding that could significantly reshape our understanding of causality, time, and even the structure of reality.

The Origins of the Tachyon
Physicist Gerald Feinberg introduced the idea of tachyons in 1962 as particles that could potentially travel faster than light, always maintaining speeds beyond that limit. This groundbreaking suggestion was rooted in his study of imaginary mass, a concept involving the square root of a negative number.      READ MORE...

Quantum Mechanics United with General Relativity

Scientists have revealed a radical theory that seeks to reconcile two pillars of modern physics – quantum mechanics and Einstein’s theory of general relativity. (CREDIT: Isaac Young)

In a cutting-edge development that has sent shockwaves through the scientific community, researchers at University College London (UCL) have unveiled a radical theory that seeks to reconcile two pillars of modern physics – quantum mechanics and Einstein's general theory of relativity.

These two theories, which have been the foundation of physics for over a century, have long been at odds with each other, and their unification has remained an elusive quest.

Today, we dive into the world of quantum gravity, a field of study that aims to bridge the gap between the quantum realm, which governs the behavior of particles at the smallest scales, and the macroscopic world, where gravity shapes the very fabric of spacetime.

While the prevailing consensus has been that Einstein's theory of gravity must be modified to fit within the framework of quantum theory, a new theory, coined as a "postquantum theory of classical gravity," challenges this assumption in a thought-provoking way.    READ MORE...

A Glitch in Einstein's Theory

This James Webb Space Telescope deep-field image shows some of the earliest and most distant galaxies ever seen. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI)





There is no denying the awesome predictive power of Albert Einstein's 1915 theory of gravity, general relativity — yet, the theory still has inconsistencies when it comes to calculating its effect on vast distances. And new research suggests these inconsistencies could be the result of a "cosmic glitch" in gravity itself.


In the 109 years since it was first formulated, general relativity has remained our finest description of gravity on a galactic scale; time and again, experiments have confirmed its accuracy. This theory has also been used to predict aspects of the universe that would later be observationally confirmed. This includes the Big Bang, the existence of black holes, the gravitational lensing of light and tiny ripples in spacetime called gravitational waves.


Yet, like the Newtonian theory of gravity that it surpassed, general relativity may not offer us the full picture of this enigmatic force.  READ MORE...

A Preordained Universe Implied by Quantum Theory

Was there ever any choice in the Universe being as it is? Albert Einstein could have been wondering about this when he remarked to mathematician Ernst Strauss: “What I’m really interested in is whether God could have made the world in a different way; that is, whether the necessity of logical simplicity leaves any freedom at all.”

US physicist James Hartle, who died earlier this year aged 83, made seminal contributions to this continuing debate. Early in the twentieth century, the advent of quantum theory seemed to have blown out of the water ideas from classical physics that the evolution of the Universe is ‘deterministic’.

Hartle contributed to a remarkable proposal that, if correct, completely reverses a conventional story about determinism’s rise with classical physics, and its subsequent fall with quantum theory. A quantum Universe might, in fact, be more deterministic than a classical one — and for all its apparent uncertainties, quantum theory might better explain why the Universe is the one it is, and not some other version.     READ MORE...