Is general relativity about curved space?

In general relativity, spacetime is not ‘flat’ but is curved by the presence of massive bodies. The curvature of spacetime influences the motion of massive bodies within it; in turn, as massive bodies move in spacetime, the curvature changes and the geometry of spacetime is in constant evolution.

What causes warped spacetime according to general relativity?

It is here that Einstein connected the dots to suggest that gravity is the warping of space and time. Gravity is the curvature of the universe, caused by massive bodies, which determines the path that objects travel. That curvature is dynamical, moving as those objects move.

Is it possible to curve spacetime?

You don’t have to be the size of a planet to do some space-time warping. Large objects such as the Sun and planets aren’t the only masses that warp the fabric of space-time. Anything with mass—including your body—bends this four-dimensional cosmic grid.

How does time behave in a region of curved spacetime?

If we consider the spacetime region above the surface of the earth, we can be more specific about the curvature of the space-time sheets. Very loosely speaking, it appears as a very slight slowing down of time the closer we get to the earth’s surface. More briefly, time runs more slowly closer to the earth’s surface.

How does gravity warp spacetime?

The Gravity of the Situation Anything that has mass is called matter, and all matter has gravity. Gravity pulls on everything that has mass and warps space-time, the underlying fabric of the universe. When light passes close to a massive object, space-time is so warped that it curves the path the light must follow.

Why does mass distort space-time?

Since matter carries energy (via Einstein’s famous relation that energy is mass times the speed of light squared), such objects will have a gravitational field and so they will distort space-time.

Is space positively curved?

Most cosmological evidence points to the universe’s density as being just right — the equivalent of around six protons per 1.3 cubic yards — and that it expands in every direction without curving positively or negatively. In other words, the universe is flat.

What does it mean for space to be curved?

Curved space often refers to a spatial geometry which is not “flat”, where a flat space is described by Euclidean geometry. Curved spaces play an essential role in general relativity, where gravity is often visualized as curved space.

What is the curvature of spacetime?

A distortion in the way we measure distance implies curvature. In the context of general relativity, this is what we mean when we say spacetime is curved. Distance has warped such that the straightest possible path is not what you expect.

What is curved space according to Einstein?

Curved Space. Einstein’s theory of General Relativity is based on the revolutionary suggestion that gravity is not a force like other forces but a consequence of the fact that space-time is not flat, as had been previously assumed. In general relativity, space-time is curved, or “warped,” by the distribution of mass and energy in it.

What does general relativity say about the shape of spacetime?

I omit indices and constants haha. So general relativity says how the spacetime is curved under the influence of matter. The second part of the story is that general relativity also says how matter moves in external geometry. It moves along “geodesics”, lines that are as straight as you can get.

What is Einstein’s theory of gravity called?

Curved Space Einstein’s theory of General Relativity is based on the revolutionary suggestion that gravity is not a force like other forces but a consequence of the fact that space-time is not flat, as had been previously assumed. In general relativity, space-time is curved, or “warped,” by the distribution of mass and energy in it.