General Theory of

Relativity
•​By Group 14
 What is general relativity?
Essentially, it's a theory of
gravity. The basic idea is
that instead of being an invisible
force that attracts objects to one
What is Theory of another, gravity is a curving or
Relativity? warping of space. The more
massive an object, the more it
warps the space around it.
• The Theory of Special Relativity
and General Theory of Relativity
are interrelated to one another.

Both are useful in studying

cosmology and astronomy
where spacetime, gravity,
and forces of nature are the
focus. ​

There are two postulates

under special relativity
 • It states that the law of Physics is the same in all
inertial reference frames. Inertial reference frames
mean that the object is at rest and remain at rest (0
net) or a moving body with constant velocity (no
acceleration). An example of this is when you are
riding an airplane. Let us assume that the airplane is
the reference frame and is moving in a straight path
with constant velocity. You dropped an object from
your lap down to the floor of the plane. Since the
First Postulates airplane moves in a constant velocity, the falling
object fell in the same way with same height and
time as if it fell when the airplane is at rest in the
ground. Same law of falling objects governs the
falling object inside the plane with constant velocity
and the falling object inside the plane when it is not
moving.
 • The second postulate states that the speed
of light in vacuum is the same for all
observers regardless of its source. Back
then, we are aware that the speed of light is
300,000,000 m/s. It just tells that when it
comes to light, speed is always constant
taking into consideration that it is in a
vacuum or empty space because it would be
Second Postulate different when light passes into a different
medium.

Special Relativity is involved only in a

situation where inertial frame
of reference is not accelerating. In
this case, only time and distance
change known to be as time dilation
and length contraction.​
Theory of
Relativity
was created
by Albert
Einstein

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-ND.

• in 1915 when he found out that mass
causes space to curve and space causes
mass to move. In space, massive object
like stars, planets, and black holes possess
gravitational field which will create
curvature in space-time. That curvature
will control how the objects in that space-
time move. This theory is only applied for
those that have a very large mass. There
are phenomena which could support that
there is warping happening in space-time
due to the gravity exerted by a massive
object.
Consequences of General Relativity
• Shifting of Mercury’s Orbit

Mercury revolves around the sun in an elliptical

manner. Since Mercury is the first planet and
nearest to the sun, it was assumed that the sun’s
gravitational field is the reason why there is a
precession (change in the orientation of the
rotational axis) and perturbation (disturbance in
the regular elliptical movement) of Mercury. Look
at the diagram below. It represents Mercury’s
shifting orbit
Gravitational Bending of
Light
• Since the strong gravitational
field of a massive object causes
distortion in the space, the light
that travels in that region will
follow its curved path resulting
to bending of light. An example
of which is the light emitted by a
star and the sun that is so
massive causing the light to bend
slightly
Black Hole
• Black hole is one of the life stages of star - it collapses as it
runs out of fuel. Black hole has no size at all, no volume, and
has indefinite density. This is known as singularity. Black hole
also has a boundary called event horizon wherein events
inside the boundary has no effect outside. The presence of
strong gravity is the reason why even light cannot escape from
it even radio wave signal. One misconception about black hole
is that it sucks up all the objects in the space. Well, that is not
really the case, unless you can penetrate in the event horizon.
But of course it is way impossible. How does it feel falling in
a black hole? Einstein’s idea of relativity explains that there is
a different perception between the observer away from the
black hole and the one falling into it. The observer may see
that there is faster rate of falling into it but as one approaches
the event horizon time will slow down and eventually stops.
That’s why it is called relativity, which means that what we
observe depends on the frame of reference
 • It is said that when massive object
accelerates, it will create gravitational wave.
Gravitational wave is any disturbance in the
curvature of space-time brought by massive
acceleration of an object. This wave is more
Gravitationa prominent to a space where massive celestial
objects undergo also a massive acceleration.
When this massive object moves, it will
l Wave change the curves in space-time producing a
ripple. That is gravitational wave. The
picture below shows two black hole that
seems like interacting, thus their strong
gravitational field created a ripple as they
move.
 • It was mentioned earlier that time slows down
as an object moves towards the area of a
massive object with high gravitational field
like black hole. Same as when the light passes
and follow the pattern of curvature in space-
time, then light bended. Light is an
Gravitationa electromagnetic spectrum with different
properties, like having trough, crest,
wavelength, and frequency. Now, when the
l Redshif light moves against the gravitational field, time
slows down and as it slows down, there will be
a change in the wavelength and frequency of
the light wave. Notice in the diagram that
frequency decreases lead to longer wavelength.
This increase in wavelength due to the effect of
gravity is what we call as gravitational redshift
 Assessment

•1. Which of the following best explains the General Theory of Relativity?
• a. All laws of Physics are applicable to all.
• b. The speed of light is always constant.
• c. The mass curves space-time.
• d. Energy can’t be destroyed.
2. Which of the following is NOT TRUE about black hole?
a. Black hole is the remnant of a star that collapsed.
b. Black hole slows down time.
c. Black hole has a very high gravitational field.
d. Black hole sucks up everything.

3. What is the tendency of light that passes by the sun and heads toward
Earth?
a. The sun absorbs the light.
b. The mass of the sun deflects the motion of light.
c. The strong gravitational field of the sun makes the light bend.
d. Light is reflected away from the Earth.
4. According to Einstein, what is the reason why gravity exist?
a. existence of black hole
b. mass of object
c. motion of light
d. nuclear force

5. Any disturbance in the curvature of space-time produce ripples once

they accelerate and move
a. black hole
b. gravitational wave
c. gravitational redshift
d. perturbation
6. What will happen to time, frequency, and wave length when moving
against gravitational field?
a. There will be a rapid time resulting to increase of frequency and
wavelength.
b. Time slows down and the frequency decreases as wavelength
becomes longer.
c. Time slows down so the frequency increases and has longer
wavelength.
d. Frequency decreases and wavelength becomes short as time slows
down.
7. This is known as the increase in wavelength due to the effect of
gravity.
a. black hole
b. gravitational wave
c. gravitational redshift
d. bending of light

• 8. This the speed of light which is constant relative to the frame of

reference.
• a. 300,000,000m/s
• b. 300,000 m/s
• c. 3,000,000 m/s
• d. 3,000 m/s
9. How many postulates are there in Albert Einstein’s Special Theory of
Relativity?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4

• 10. Which of the following about relativity is NOT TRUE?

• a. Mass causes curvature into the space.
• b. Everything moves relative to everything else.
• c. What we can see and observe depends on frame of reference.
• d. There is no interrelation between special relativity and general
relativity.