Exploring the shape of space-time

 The afterglow of the Big Bang reveals the geometry of the universe. Einstein’s field equations describe gravity not as a force, but rather a
property of space-time — the fabric of the universe. Earth travels
around the Sun in a circular orbit because the Sun’s mass deforms the
space-time around it like a bowling ball on a trampoline. In ancient times, scholars such as Aristotle thought that heavy objects
would fall faster than lightweight objects under the influence of
gravity. About four and a half centuries ago, Galileo Galilei decided to
test this assumption experimentally. He dropped objects of different
masses from the Tower of Pisa and found that gravity actually causes
them all to fall the same way. More than 300 years later, Albert
Einstein was struck by Galileo’s finding. He realized that if all
objects follow the same trajectory under gravity, then gravity might not
be a force but rather a property of space-time — the fabric of the
universe, which all objects experience in the same way.In one of the most important advances in modern physics, Einstein
recognized that when space-time is curved, objects do not follow
straight lines. He reckoned that Earth, for example, orbits the Sun in a
circle because the Sun curves space-time in its vicinity. This is
similar to the path of a ball on the surface of a trampoline whose
center is weighed down by a person. In November 1915, Einstein published the mathematical equations that
established the foundation for his general theory of relativity. These
equations describe the link between matter and the space-time in which
it resides, showing that mass deforms space-time and influences the path
of matter. In the words of physicist John Wheeler: “Space-time tells
matter how to move and matter tells space-time how to curve.” 

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