Theory of Relativity

Few days back at office, I and my colleague had to walk certain distance to reach our laboratory from our seats. He was walking faster than me and I felt I am not able to walk along him; his speed was moderate though. I told him “Sir, you walk too fast,” He replied “No, I don’t walk fast, my Boss is faster than me and he says I walk slowly and actually mine is neither slow nor fast, I am moderate”. Then I smiled, thought for few seconds and said “It’s actually relative sir, your boss walks too fast, so he says you are slow for him, with me you are faster and to compare to yourself, you are moderate!! haha :) ”

We entered laboratory. I am a kind of person who would be intrigued at any new things I find in our laboratory and I would ask to the scientist madam about that and finally comment on its shape, structure and all physical nature or create an analogy with my subject. This time I found thick white coloured card board tubes lying on the slab and I told my colleague “ Sir, this looks like silk worm cocoon, what for you are using it??” tried to banter. He considered this kind of analogical thoughts comes only to children and asked me “ Kousalya, when will you grow old, my child?.” It was enough to make me smile and say “We should be childlike, but never childish.” He happily welcomed my answer and said “bacchii jaiselagtiho (look to be a child baby)”. It was obvious for him to feel me as a child as we have quite difference between our ages. If the same attitude expressed by a person older than him, it would have been just a joke and he could even be irritated at him. It again illustrated that emotions and opinions are also relative with circumstances and the measuring person. But this is the only relativity which differs from person to person.

When I started looking at everything in depth, all resulted to happen in comparison. No quantity and quality could be explained and measured independently. Nothing seemed to be absolute. But there can be possibilities of finding absolution with very little things.

Everyday measurement we do, are not absolute. Every measurement has to have a reference. Each meter to measure the length is referred to the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second. In turn we would be trying to fix the speed of the light to 1 meter for 1/299792458 of a second. Grams are referred to certain things. Molecular mass is measured based on the fractions of Carbon-12 atom.

Though the speed can be quantified in numbers, the fundamental parameters yields to it are not absolute. Distance and time need to be referred. Time is the best example to explain theory of relativity. We don’t know on what basis the time is measured. Seconds, milliseconds, micro seconds, nano seconds and let’s consider even pico seconds are not known to major part of the world who uses time every day that on what basis they are considered? Few people feel sometimes, time is moving faster and some others would worry how to spend the slow moving time. Then what is that measures time, watch or people’s mind??

Newton’s inertial frame of reference will actually have no role in his mechanic rule, but a concept of relativity. On earth, a day is measured based on its rotation and revolution around earth. If we stay on Mars, we would be older than what we are now on earth. On Jupiter I would still be a two month old baby as it revolves and rotates slower than earth.

The effect of sound is also relative. You would tell your fellow to speak less loudly when you are in a silent area where as you can even ask to speak louder when you are amidst a noisy crowd. The people living in the vicinity of a drainage would have adopted to inhale the smell normally over period, but those who is been there from a far place could feel the smell more sensitively than the person who lives there. Intensity of all your sensation is relative.

Theory of Relativity must be common sense, but is made a complicated hypothesis in our text books.

We must thank Einstein, who at least identified this simple phenomenon which involves in everything around us for all those who are unable to recognize it. Kudos to Einstein!  He discovered it and made a new way for scientists and researchers. He showed that it is not just mathematics which involves every aspect of the universe, but also the theory of relativity.