Friday, November 18, 2005

Einstein's Relativity Theory

Over the past week, Einsteins been in the news a lot. First, University of Manchester scientists developed a new way to prove his relativity theory with graphite from a pencil. Next, Einstein played an integral role in developing new computer keys to prevent hacking.

I thought it might be a good time to round-up some of the many excellent sites that attempt to explain special relativity and his other scientific contributions:

PBS Nova Special with comments from experts
5-minute video on relativity
Relativity Theory in Words of Four Letters or Less
NYTimes: That Famous Equation and You by Brian Greene

Also, here are some other sites that are a more detailed, but worth looking at for those of you who are interested:

Physics Flash Animations (scroll down to relativity theory)
The University New South Wales: Einstein Light
SpaceTimeTravel: Relativity Visualized
Why Can't We Travel Faster Than Light?
How Stuff Works: Special Relativity
UCLA: Relativity (very detailed)
Living Reviews in Relativity
Einstein Archives Online

And finally, something less heady and just fun to watch. Watch some scientists messing around with a vat of corn syrup. Wait...look for the fingers. Very odd. (Via Boing Boing).

Update: See what it looks like to travel at the speed of light.