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**  Einstein's Theories  of Special  and     General Relativity          **     <span style="font-size: 200%; color: rgb(238,139,198); font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">  <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"><span style="color: rgb(112,24,123);">            <span style="font-size: 200%; color: rgb(238,139,198); font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;">        <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif;"> // Neither of the theories of special or general relativity have been definitively accepted or rejected, but many physicists today are devoting their lives to proving or disproving Einstein's conjectures.

// <span style="font-size: 120%; color: rgb(91,203,245); font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">**What is Einstein's Theory of Relativity?** In 1905, Albert Einstein published the principle of relativity in a paper titled "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" that describes the motion of a particle nearing the speed of light in a vacuum-like environment (also known as the special theory of relativity.) The theory of general relativity is closely related to this concept, but adds a description of gravity inside of its conjectures and explanations (Zennie). The theory of special relativity states that absolute motion at a constant velocity is undetectable, and therefore motion is relative (Stern). Einstein also asserted that, because his theories did not follow Newton's laws, that Newton's laws were the ones that needed to be modified (Stern). Einstein's theories are only relevant in particles that are nearing the speed of light, because in slow-moving particles, the differences between Newton's laws and Einstein's theories are very, very small ("Special Relativity"). Using fairly modern machines, it has been mostly proven that Einstein's assertion that particles increase in mass as they approach the speed of light is widely assumed to be true (Stern).

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"><span style="font-size: 120%; color: rgb(86,251,141); font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Who says it's true? ** In many cases in history, Einstein's concepts have been proven with experimentation. Particle accelerators show that particles do indeed become more massive as they near the velocity of light ("Towards a New Test?"). This assertion was made in Einstein's theory of special relativity, and since it has been proven to be valid under several instances, it is one of the lesser debated aspects of the theories. Einstein's relativity of time is also able to be proven. Muons are particles with a lifetime of approximately two microseconds ("Towards a New Test?"). Muons are originally produced in the high upper atmosphere, which is where this time approximation is taken from. However, the average lifetime of muons on the Earth's surface appears to be much longer ("Towards a New Test?"). The reason for this discrepancy is that the frame of reference is different on Earth's surface than in the upper atmosphere, a perfect example of the relativity of time ("Towards a New Test?").

Alan Kostelecky is a professor of theoretical physics at Indiana University. He has spent much of his time conducting experiments that aim to prove the presence of "small violations" in Einstein's theory of relativity (Zennie). Many of these experiments directly deal with the "theory of everything," which employs both the theory of special relativity and the theory of general relativity, as well as other prominent theories in the world of physics (Zennie). The main problem for Kostelecky and many other physicists around the world lies in that experimentally proving the theory of everything would require an atom smasher that is 18 times more powerful than the most powerful atom smasher in the world today (Zennie). By researching the theory of everything, Kostelecky is led to many more basic experiments on Einstein's theories. In these experiments, Kostelecky has developed the Standard Model Extension, which involves both the theory of general relativity and its possible violations in physics (Zennie). The Standard Model Extension has led Kostelecky to believe that light is derived from violations in relativity (Zennie). Kostelecky says that the theory of special relativity can be compared to being stranded in the middle of the ocean, able to see no landmarks, without any sense of direction. Any way the person looks, they cannot tell the direction of anything. With his theory of violations, Kostelecky says that he would be "giving the stranded person a compass" (Zennie). Although his conjectures have not yet been concretely proven, the experimentation is promising because light can be so precisely measured in today's world.
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"><span style="font-size: 120%; color: rgb(249,143,77);">Who says it's not?  **

A study was presented on 21 March 2006 that was funded by the European Space Agency that is thought to have possibly measured the gravitational equivalent of a magnetic field (also known as a gravitomagnetic field) and found this measurement to be much larger than the figure that was approximated by Einstein's theory of general relativity ("Towards a New Test?"). Einstein's theory states that the effects of said gravitomagnetic fields, which are created by moving masses, are negligible ("Towards a New Test?"). Martin Tajmar and his team of scientists believe that they have quantitatively measured the effects of a gravitomagnetic field in a laboratory setting, a major breakthrough against Einstein's theory ("Towards a New Test?"). The experiment consists of a s uperconductive ring that can rotate at up to 6500 times per minute, producing a weak magnetic force field ("Towards a New Test?"). This occurance has been named the Gravitomagnetic London Moment ("Towards a New Test?"). Tajmar and his team measured and recorded an acceleration outside the superconductive ring that was produced by gravitomagnetism ("Towards a New Test?"). Although this quantitative record itself does not violate Einstein's theory of general relativity, the fact that the measurement was one hundred million trillion times greater than the theory of general relativity suggests does ("Towards a New Test?"). Tajmar was not quick to release his results either. More than 250 experiments took place, followed by an eight month period of discussion on the results inside of a facility that has been continuously improved for three years ("Towards a New Test?"). Although the experimental results have not yet been officially confirmed, Tajmar encourages other physicists around the world to experiment with the theory for themselves. Confirmation of such a strong existence of the gravitomagnetic field would go against Einstein's quantitative suggestions, and probably get the ball rolling on other experiments to disprove his theories.

**<span style="font-size: 110%; color: rgb(202,76,230); font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">So What's the Point? ** Through numerous mathematical and physical experiments, physicists working on Einstein's theories of relativity have made strides in both proving and disproving his work. Studies and experiments are continuously being released are waiting to be confirmed all over the world. Such confirmation would certainly cause major breakthroughs in the world of conceptual relativity. Although small parts of Einstein's theories of general and special relativity have been essentially proven, no major parts of either theory have been disproven. Proving Einstein wrong, even just once, would jump start a world of experimenting, hypothesizing, and measuring that would cause a chain of major breakthroughs in the physics world.

"ESA - GSP - Towards a new test of general relativity?." __ESA Communications Portal__. 23 Mar. 2006. 26 Jan. 2009 <<span class="wiki_link_ext"><span class="wiki_link_ext"><span class="wiki_link_ext">http://www.esa.int/esaMI/GSP/SEM0L6OVGJE_0.html  >. This website, a publication of the European Space Agency, is very reliable in that it gives a clear and concise summary of the theory of special relativity. The major point of the article is that scientists may have found a flaw in Einstein's theory of relativity. The article describes the theory, the experiment, the discrepancies between the two, and what confirmation of the results could mean for the world of science.
 * <span style="font-size: 120%; color: rgb(118,129,198); font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Works Cited **

"Mysteries of Deep Space Timeline - Albert Einstein Publishes Theory of Relativity." __PBS__. 27 Jan. 2009 <<span class="wiki_link_ext">http://www.pbs.org/deepspace/timeline/tl17.html >. This website was only used for a picture, but is from the PBS website so it is a reliable source. A small article with the picture provided a brief and accurate summary of Einstein's theory of relativity as well as his other major accomplishments in the twentieth century.

"Particle Accelerator: Two-Stage Design." __Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia__. 27 Jan. 2009 <<span class="wiki_link_ext">http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/445045/59812/Two-stage-tandem-particle-accelerator-A-beam-of-negative-ions >. This site was used for a picture, and is a reliable source. The picture comes from an online encyclopedia. The site provided an explanation of the topic and several diagrams of different types of machines dealing with the topic.

Stern, David. "The Theory of Relativity." __NASA Polar, Wind, and Geotail Projects__. 20 May 2008. 26 Jan. 2009 <<span class="wiki_link_ext"><span class="wiki_link_ext"><span class="wiki_link_ext">http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Srelativ.htm  >. This web page is an article on the theory of relativity. It provides a brief overview of Einstein's theory, as well as Newton's conflicting laws. The site provides the history of the theories as well. The site is a publication of NASA and therefore is very reliable. In addition to explaining the theory of relativity, the site also explains some of the ways that small parts of Einstein's conjectures have been proven.

"Theory: Special Relativity (SLAC VVC)." __SLAC Public Website Server__. 23 Jan. 2009 <<span class="wiki_link_ext"><span class="wiki_link_ext"><span class="wiki_link_ext">http://www2.slac.stanford.edu/vvc/theory/relativity.html  >. This site, a subsection of the Stanford University website, explains special relativity. It provides very extensive explanations, which include many equations and examples. The article breaks down the theory of special relativity into small parts and physics concepts, and then ties them together with an explanation of the theory of special relativity as a whole. The site's explanations are a very good resource, but do require ample time to read through and understand the advanced vocabulary used.

"V. Alan Kostelecky: IU News Room: Indiana University ." __IU News Room: Indiana University__. 30 Mar. 2006. 27 Jan. 2009 <<span class="wiki_link_ext">http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/3179.html >. This website was used a source from a picture. Inside of a press release online, the picture came from the Indiana University website, so it is from a reliable source. The release included information about the subject and was neatly organized and clean.

Zennie, Michael. "Theory of Relativity Challenged by Scientists, IU Physics Professor's Latest Research Project." __Indiana Daily Student__. 26 Apr. 2005. 23 Jan. 2009 <www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?ID=41212&comview=1>. This site is an article from the Indiana Daily Student periodical. The article explains how a professor at Indiana University is finding possible flaws in Einstein's theory of general relativity. If confirmed, the article also tells how the breakthrough would change the world of science, and more specifically the world of physics. The article is a good resource in that it comes from an educational publication and explains both the theory, the experiment, and the consequences upon confirmed results.