The theory of relativity has revolutionized our understanding of physics. Developed by Albert Einstein in the early 20th century, it fundamentally changed how we perceive space, time, and gravity.
The theory consists of two major components: special relativity and general relativity. Special relativity, published in 1905, established that the speed of light is constant regardless of the observer’s motion, and introduced the famous equation E=mc².
General relativity, published in 1915, expanded these concepts to include gravity, describing it not as a force but as a curvature of spacetime caused by mass and energy. This theory successfully predicted phenomena like gravitational waves, which were directly observed for the first time in 2015 by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration.
Modern physics continues to build upon Einstein’s work, integrating relativity with quantum mechanics in the search for a unified theory of everything.
