Activity for Einstein's theory of relativity?

Question

for a school project, I'm giving a presentation on Einstein's theory of relativity. after the presentation, i have to have an activity for the class to do on his thoery. any sugestions?

Answer 1

E = mc2.  

have the class build a nuclear bomb, and show just how much energy can be released from a few pounds of metal.

:-)

Answer 2

This is tough.  Since Special Relativity only provides interesting results at speeds near the velocity of light, and only particles on an atomic scale can reach such speeds, it would have to be something involving atomic physics.  If you can lay hands on a radiation source, and a radiation detector of some kind, you can at least do some experiments on how well everyday materials (paper, sheet metal, etc.) absorb radiation.  But this has little to do with relativity per se.

Answer 3

That's tough.  Maybe a 'no center of the universe' experiment.  Have two people on opposite sides of the room give directions to a flag on a desk in the middle of the room.  Just ask them to tell you simple directions like the flag is so many desks forward or back and so many desks to the left or right.  The person on one side of the room will say something like 'go two desks forward, turn right and go three more desks and you'll be there' but the person on the other side of the room says 'go four desks forward, turn left and go one desk.'  How can they give two completely different directions and yet both be correct?  Special relativity tells us that there is no defined center of the universe, and we can assume any point we want is the center to makes things convenient.  Both people giving directions have assumed they were at the center of the universe and defined the flag in coordinate systems with themselves at the origin (0, 0).  It's a grid, person one says the flag is at (2, 3) and person two says it's at (4, -1).  Special relativity tells us they can both be correct.

edit: wait, for some reason I thought it had to be special relativity.  If it can be general relativity too then another thing you can do is stretch a sheet and put a big weight in the middle.  Then have the class roll marbles past the weight and watch them curve when they get to the spot the weight is pulling the sheet down.  Then explain how the sheet is like space, and the weight in the middle is like a star.  The mass of the star bends the space around it, and causes the marbles (which can be comets or asteroids or planets or whatever) so curve in.  This is how gravity works in general relativity.

Answer 4

Do a participation experiment. First, make everyone do something really uncomfortable or embarrassing (within school guidelines, of course) like standing on tip-toe or on one leg without holding onto anything for two whole minutes. Then, give everyone a hersey's kiss (chocolate) or a yummy treat that would make them want more. After they eat it, point out how LONG those two minutes balancing seemed, yet how FAST the candy went. Time is relative to our perspective. Good things go fast. Bad things seem to go on forever.

Answer 5

Well ... you might trying leaving the elucidation of the unifield field theory as an exercize for the reader.