1. Einstein's Legacy
No doubt one of the greatest minds of all time, Albert Einstein left both a scientific and a philosophical legacy, encouraging the use of hard science and mathematics, as well as intuition and imagination. What's so special about relativity? How do the theories of general and specific relativity differ from each other? What problems arose in astronomy and physics between the 18th and 19th centuries that challenged Newton's concept of the universe and what was Einstein's role in dealing with these problems?

Explore answers to these questions by following the recommended links at below.

Consider This Before Answering the Questions
No doubt one of the greatest minds of all time, Albert Einstein left both a scientific and a philosophical legacy, encouraging the use of not only hard science and mathematics, but also intuition and imagination. He is an inspiring figure as well, as most of us heard early on in our educational pursuits that despite being a less-than-excellent student, he rose to massive heights in physics, mathematics, and philosophy.

• You can learn a bit more about Einstein the man and a lot more about his theories of relativity (general and special), as well as space-time and time dilation by working your way through the URL beginning at http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Cyberia/NumRel/EinsteinLegacy.html.
• Start with the short introduction about Einstein and Isaac Newton (how did Einstein's work parallel Newton's?), then link to "Forward to Unwinding the Clockwork Universe." From there, move forward to "What Is so Special about Relativity?" and end by linking to "General Relativity" (although you may actually want to keep linking and learning more about the man and his work).
• As you go through these sections, think about what problems arose in astronomy and physics between the 18th and 19th centuries that challenged Newton's concept of the universe. What was Einstein's role in dealing with these problems? Explain the process/progress of his work (do click on his 1905 paper to give you more of a feeling for the man and his work, and do link to some of the other images as you are moving through), as well as its impact on science and technology. How does special relativity differ from general relativity? How are "embedding diagrams" used to help illustrate Einstein's theory? How does von Bayer conceive of space-time, and how does that relate to the Theory of General Relativity? What is the connection between Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity and time dilation? Do you now see time in

After You Answer the Questions
You might want to read some fiction by Kurt Vonnegut that easily relates-in an off-beat sci-fi way-to time dilation. Some suggestions are The Sirens of Titan, Slaughterhouse Five, and Breakfast of Champions.