General Relativity: How Gravity Warps Space and Time

Einstein’s general relativity, published in 1915, redefined gravity as the warping of spacetime.
Massive objects like stars and planets bend space and time around them.
This curvature guides planets in orbit—gravity is geometry, not a pulling force.
Light itself bends when passing near massive objects, a phenomenon called gravitational lensing.
Time runs slower in stronger gravitational fields, an effect confirmed with atomic clocks.
Black holes are regions where spacetime warping becomes so extreme that nothing escapes.
General relativity predicted gravitational waves—ripples in spacetime—detected a century later.
GPS satellites must account for relativistic time shifts caused by Earth’s gravity.
The theory replaces Newton’s absolute space and time with a dynamic, flexible fabric.
General relativity remains essential for understanding the cosmos, from galaxies to the Big Bang.