[Tangster]

 I was trying to explain what I know about it to my 8 year old this week and I was amazed at how easily he accepted it. I guess he hasn't had Newton's 'force' of gravity burned into his brain yet. I don't understand why this stuff isn't taught at an earlier age - kids are way brighter than we think (and usually than we are) and then kids don't have to re-learn everything. But I guess we need teachers who understand it too.

 
It's mostly because it's not really applicable to everyday physics or engineering. Additionally the equations that are relevant for explaining it are more complicated and fiddlier to use than Newtons Law. It's not really very useful to use relativistic equations for "a car accelerates to 5m/s" style questions after all. Finally there's piles of background that's required to even start understanding the maths, gotta have the foundations before you can build the rest of the house.

 

[wink]

I'm awaiting for the scientific community to come to a firm conclusion as to whether time is a dimension or not.  

 

[Pudu]

It's mostly because it's not really applicable to everyday physics or engineering. Additionally the equations that are relevant for explaining it are more complicated and fiddlier to use than Newtons Law. It's not really very useful to use relativistic equations for "a car accelerates to 5m/s" style questions after all. Finally there's piles of background that's required to even start understanding the maths, gotta have the foundations before you can build the rest of the house.

You're totally right about that. But you can introduce the theory without understanding the underlying maths - much like kids can study evolution and weather without knowing polynucleotide chemistry and chaos theory. Teach them about General Relativity and then refer them to Principia Mathematica for doing the practical maths.

 

[oldmate]

Oh, I'd be totally lying if I said I understood the whole curvature of space-time thing on anything but a superficial level. I've heard a physicist say that it usually takes them about 3 years of dealing with it on a regular basis to gain a fundamental conceptual understanding of the way space-time really appears to work. The fun results of it are easy to grasp - time dilation, gravitational lensing etc. I was trying to explain what I know about it to my 8 year old this week and I was amazed at how easily he accepted it. I guess he hasn't had Newton's 'force' of gravity burned into his brain yet. I don't understand why this stuff isn't taught at an earlier age - kids are way brighter than we think (and usually than we are) and then kids don't have to re-learn everything. But I guess we need teachers who understand it too.
Hahaha! I think it best we don't go there.

Just having having a bit of fun re hamilton - he is still a 1st class driver. Just as well he is usually at the front because he can't overtake!! 

 
Seen his new Challenger??
 

 

 

[Pudu]

No, I hadn't - man these guys get paid way too much.

I personally couldn't care less about any driver's lifestyle, as long as he isn't spouting hurtful nonsense. The reason I've been a Lewis fan since he started is because he always wears his heart on his sleeve and often races like G Villeneuve and other past greats - without reserve. He very very often says ridiculous things, but he can never seem to hide his true feelings very well.

Can't wait for testing to start next week. I hope Ferrari can mount a serious challenge this year. Apart from a number of spectacular races, the on track racing has been somewhat lacking since the beginning of 2011. I want a good season of two different teams going down to the wire. I read a good article today about getting a working group together headed by Ross Brawn. Would love to see them drop a ton of aero in two years time.

Sorry for the off topic. Is there a clever way to segue from F1 back into gravity and mass? Something involving Flavio Briatore in a speedo perhaps. :eek:

 

[Hutnicks]

No, I hadn't - man these guys get paid way too much.

I personally couldn't care less about any driver's lifestyle, as long as he isn't spouting hurtful nonsense. The reason I've been a Lewis fan since he started is because he always wears his heart on his sleeve and often races like G Villeneuve and other past greats - without reserve. He very very often says ridiculous things, but he can never seem to hide his true feelings very well.

Can't wait for testing to start next week. I hope Ferrari can mount a serious challenge this year. Apart from a number of spectacular races, the on track racing has been somewhat lacking since the beginning of 2011. I want a good season of two different teams going down to the wire. I read a good article today about getting a working group together headed by Ross Brawn. Would love to see them drop a ton of aero in two years time.

Sorry for the off topic. Is there a clever way to segue from F1 back into gravity and mass? Something involving Flavio Briatore in a speedo perhaps.

Well you could just link yourselves over to the F1 Thread. But I fear, that image you put in our minds qualifies you for a banning like Flav himself

 
Besides. Everyone knows that last years Pirellis were case studies of Physics in Action.

 

[Pudu]

... that image you put in our minds qualifies you for a banning like Flav himself

 

[MacedonianHero]

I found this news story very exciting! I watched them present it live last week and felt a little giddy. Not only does it fulfill one of General Relativity's last predictions, it emphatically helps prove the existence of black holes themselves. The latter has some evidence (theory and math behind it), but this new evidence is really persuasive. 
 
Next up? Gravity wave astrology? Who knows? When Einstein in 1905 put out the paper on the Photoelectric Effect, who knew that microprocessors today would depend on it? Or in 1915 with GR, that we'd have GPS because of it? So 100 years from now, who knows what humanity will gain from this. Very exciting time!
 
Next up, I'd love to see primordial gravitational waves in the CMB...and thus help give more evidence to Cosmic Inflation and in turn, the existence of many, many, many more "pocket universes".