Confusing Comparison of Special Relativity and General Relativity

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

Hi:

The following statement was made in Clifford Pickover?s book TIME: A TRAVELER?S GUIDE:

-------------------------------------------------------------
??special relativity describes how objects move far away from
massive objects like stars while the general theory of
relativity is more powerful and capable of describing
spaceships accelerating near stars and black holes.?
-------------------------------------------------------------

Does special relativity say ANYTHING about how things move away from massive objects? I thought that was general relativity?s department. Thanks for any help!
 
RTT,


Don't confuse STR with GTR.

Special Relativity deals with some specific ideas:

1. It defines the speed of light as being measured by all observers to be the same independent of their relative velocities;

2. All observers, independent of their relative velocities, will measure the laws of physics to be the same;

3. "Simultaneous events" is redefined in terms of the relative velocity of independent observers.

STR generally deals with objects in uniform motion...not under accelleration...it ignores gravity.

GTR is a definition of gravity and gravitational effects. Accelleration is one way to define gravity.
 
Back
Top