One hundred years ago, Albert Einstein made the idea of time travel actually possible in his theory of relativity.
No one has managed to travel through time; but just because it hasn't been discovered doesn't mean it's impossible.
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who migrated to the United States in the later years of life. Some things that have already been discovered because of his theory include features of our universe such as black holes and gravitational waves. The theory also led to the actualization of tools we use in our modern lives, such as accurate GPS systems.
The equations Albert Einstein shared with the rest of the world in November 1915 changed our understanding of gravity as a long-distance phenonomen to a short-distance one. In short, Einstein taught us that gravity is not just an ordinary force (as we've long understood), but a property of space-time geometry.
Space is like a river with eddies and currents changing the course of boats (planets and stars). "Space tells matter how to move and matter, in turn, tells space how to curve," John Wheeler, a friend of Einstein, often says. This is also similar to a bowling ball set down on a bed creating a depression in the sheets.
Einstein's (and probably physics as a whole) famous equation, E=mc2, was first revealed in his special theory of relativity. Basically, the equation describes the relationship between energy, mass, and the speed of light in a vacuum. In short, mass and energy are the same but in different forms.
Awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921, It was then on Nov. 25, 1915 that Einstein presented his paper on his theory of relativity before the Prussian Academy of Science that would ultimately make him one of the most, if not the most, celebrated scientists in academic circles and popular culture as well.
However, the theory of relativity has such a large scope that it can be quite difficult to understand. It's not like Albert Einstein had a moment of genius suddenly spring from his mind. Rather, it took him over a decade of hard work, research and intense thought to properly formulate his theory. The basics of all that work, nonetheless, have been recently summed up by a kid in a seven-and-a-half minute video on YouTube.
Using hand-drawn cartooney graphics and props from everyday life (like a bowl of cooked popcorn and a moving minivan), Ryan Chester's video goes through the basics of the theory of relativity and how it explains that people travelling close to the speed of light age slower compared to people staying stable on Earth, a la the Hollywood movie, "Interstellar."
Ryan's video won him the 2016 Breakthrough Junior Challenge which included a $250,000 scholarship, $50,000 for his AP Physics teacher, and even a $100,000 grant for his high school to upgrade its science lab.
Founded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan, Google founder Sergey Brin, Russian businessman Yuri Milner, Alibaba founder Jack Ma and many others, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge recognizes contributions in the fields of physics, mathematics, and life sciences. Ryan Chester is an aspiring filmmaker.
Photo: Anders Thirsgaard Rasmussen | Flickr
