How is space-time warped?

Large objects such as the Sun and planets aren’t the only masses that warp the fabric of space-time. Anything with mass—including your body—bends this four-dimensional cosmic grid. The warp, in turn, creates the effect of gravity, redirecting the path of objects that travel into it.

What causes the warp or the curvature on the spacetime?

Gravity is the curvature of spacetime Gravity is the curvature of the universe, caused by massive bodies, which determines the path that objects travel. That curvature is dynamical, moving as those objects move. In Einstein’s view of the world, gravity is the curvature of spacetime caused by massive objects.

Why do massive objects distort space/time what would it be?

Since matter carries energy (via Einstein’s famous relation that energy is mass times the speed of light squared), such objects will have a gravitational field and so they will distort space-time. This gravitational field is in addition to that produced by the matter of the charge or magnet.

What is the curvature of spacetime?

The curvature of spacetime influences the motion of massive bodies within it; in turn, as massive bodies move in spacetime, the curvature changes and the geometry of spacetime is in constant evolution. Gravity then provides a description of the dynamic interaction between matter and spacetime.

What does warped space mean?

Gravity, Einstein asserted, is caused by a warping of space and time—or, in a language we physicists prefer, by a warping of spacetime. As we shall see, it curves space, it slows the flow of time, and it drags space into tornado-like motions — at least that is what Einstein’s general relativity predicts.

Does light bend in space?

Out in space, light rays passing near very massive objects such as stars are seen to travel in curves. For light to bend by itself, however, is unheard of—almost.

A distortion in the way we measure distance implies curvature. In the context of general relativity, this is what we mean when we say spacetime is curved. Distance has warped such that the straightest possible path is not what you expect.

Is gravity the warping of space and time?

The equivalence principle tells us that the effects of gravity and acceleration are indistinguishable. In thinking about the example of the cylindrical ride, we see that accelerated motion can warp space and time. It is here that Einstein connected the dots to suggest that gravity is the warping of space and time.

How does general relativity relate to the curvature of space?

General Relativity deals with curvature of Spacetime, not just curvature of Space. You can’t ignore time because clocks are affected throughout the universe. Spacetime events are what we measure and are independent of observers.

Why do straight lines not look straight in curved space?

The presence of mass, which we typically think of as gravity, distorts distance and time nearby. This, as we just learned, curves spacetime. And in a curved spacetime, straight lines don’t look straight. Now here’s the clincher.