Scientists have subjected Albert Einstein's theory of gravity to the most rigorous real-world tests to date─the results show that the theory still holds.
Einstein's General Theory of Relativity states that objects with mass cause the curvature of spacetime, which is what we understand as gravity. According to Einstein's relativity, spacetime is a four-dimensional structure composed of time and space.
For example, a bowling ball can create a depression on a mattress, and this depression alters the trajectory of a marble that would otherwise move in a straight line across the same mattress. Similarly, the mass of the Sun warps the surrounding spacetime. Smaller objects, like the Earth, move along a path in this warped space, which we call an orbit.
Scientists test this general theory not because they think it is wrong, but because they are certain that this theory is not the final explanation, just as Newton's law of universal gravitation was eventually replaced by Einstein's theory.
Einstein's theory of gravity was published nearly a century ago and has passed all tests so far. However, scientists have been trying to determine the exact conditions under which Einstein's theory may no longer hold and in which aspects a replacement theory may be necessary. For example, the framework of Einstein's theory of gravity conflicts with quantum theory, which explains how nature operates at atomic and subatomic levels.
This research report was published in the journal Science. German Max
