Einstein’s Theories and Life

Adriana C. Santos-Rodriguez

Einstein explained life while studying physics, more exactly, Newton’s Laws. The relativity theory of relativity refers to Albert Einstein’s theories: Special Relativity and General Relativity. These two theories were based in the principle of relativity, which is a way of looking at physical theories and life in general, saying that the laws of physics aren’t always exact if not considered only in very similar situations, in other words, using the same frame of reference. Albert Einstein dedicated part of his career to test Newton’s Laws in various ways, he realized that there were some differences, and he developed the theories of relativity to try to explain them. His ideas made him revise Isaac Newton’s Laws for objects moving at high speeds or in very strong gravitational fields.

Special relativity explains what happens to objects at speeds close to that of light. If one is moving more slowly, the laws look the same as Newton’s Laws of Motion.  Special relativity overthrows Newton’s idea of absolute space and time by stating that time and space are perceived differently by observers in different states of motion.

In 1916 Einstein expanded his Special Theory to include the effect of gravitation on the shape of space and the flow of time. This theory is known as  General Theory of Relativity. Aristotle's view of motion made very difficult the  understanding of gravity for a long time. He believed that force at a distance was not possible and force can only be applied by pushing or pulling. The General Theory of Relativity joins special relativity and Gravity to describe the curvature of space and time.

Einstein used these ideas to conclude that the laws of physics should be independent of the coordinate system used. But it is obvious that some coordinate systems may make a physical situation easier to describe and predict than others. All frames, however, are equally valid. f you move fast enough through space, the observations that you make about space and time differ somewhat from the observations of other people, who are moving at different speeds.

These ideas can help us explain Life. All that happens around us can’t be judged or described without a frame of reference, by this everything is relative. As mention before some coordinate system, some frame of reference facilitates the description and predictions for situations, therefore even when we’d want that situations work independently of the circumstances it is hard to think like that. The outcome of every decision, every conversation, everything that happens in our life depends on the frame or the vision you are using to analyze the situation.

Observations are different from people moving at different speeds, therefore observations are different from people standing in different places. And every “frame of reference” or “coordinate system” you choose to confront life is going to vary from other people standing elsewhere, showing that we can only judge people when standing in their shoes. Therefore similar situations can have different outcomes, different people make different choices; it depends as how we look at things, what frame we use as reference to compare. Einstein did more than physics, he gave a philosophical twist to Newton’s Laws and his theories. Physics is more than a science, it’s part of our life whether we like it or not, it is all around us every step of our days, for example when we lift, push, pull, make noises, etc. Physics is everything.