What is General Relativity and How Does it Work?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of General Relativity, with participants exploring how to explain it step by step. The scope includes theoretical understanding and foundational knowledge, particularly in relation to Special Relativity.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant requests a step-by-step explanation of General Relativity, expressing a desire for clarity.
  • Another participant suggests that while it is possible to explain General Relativity, there are numerous existing resources, including textbooks and tutorials.
  • A different participant recommends reviewing a related thread for insights on gravity's effect on light, indicating that background reading is necessary.
  • One participant emphasizes the importance of understanding Special Relativity before tackling General Relativity, suggesting it will make the latter easier to grasp.
  • Another participant points to Wikipedia as a starting point for both Special and General Relativity, highlighting the availability of references for further reading.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that while explaining General Relativity is feasible, a solid understanding of Special Relativity is beneficial. However, there is no consensus on a singular method for explanation, and multiple resources are suggested.

Contextual Notes

Some limitations include the assumption that participants have varying levels of prior knowledge and the dependence on external resources for foundational understanding.

harnith
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
hello everyone. i want someone to explain general relativity step by step. please don't say that it is impossible.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
It is not impossible, but there are 1000 of textbooks and tutorials out there that have already done that.

Try this one for instance: http://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/9712019
 
You can also gain some insights from a thread I posted nearby.."How does light slow in the presence of gravity?" but you should do some background reading first...
 
It's not impossible although it does play with your mind a bit. However, as a startoff I'd recommend that you get a thorough understanding of Special Relativity first. When you've got that cracked, then General Relativity will come to you a lot easier. Good luck with it !
 

Similar threads

Graduate A global energy conservation law in general relativity
  • · Replies 36 ·
2
Replies
36
Views
2K
High School General Relativity and Universal Gravitational Constant
  • · Replies 27 ·
Replies
27
Views
2K
Graduate Does Spacetime Absorb Energy in General Relativity?
  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
2K
High School Why do people care about vacuum solutions in GR?
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
1K
Undergrad Understanding the historical shift away from absolute simultaneity
  • · Replies 25 ·
Replies
25
Views
1K
Undergrad Does the metric in general relativity depend only on position because of the equivalence principle?
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
2K
Graduate Decomposing Rank-2 Tensors in Dirac's "General Theory of Relativity
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K
Graduate The Causal Bootstrap Paradox in General Relativity
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
1K
Undergrad GR as Gauge Theory
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
Graduate Dirac's derivation of the action/Lagrangian for a free particle
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
1K