Special Relativity?! How is space-time affected by mass/gravity?

Question

I don't fully understand the fundamental concepts of how space-time is warped by matter. Maybe one day we can create property tables of matter/time/energy(speed of light??) and treat these properties like how temperature/pressure affect liquids/gases, maybe do something practical like travel through the universe. That'd be cool.

Answer 1

Very few physicists and mathematician understand space-time, so don't feel bad.

Here is a fairly good overview:

http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Cyberia/Num...



"Mathematically, General Relativity is built upon ten so-called "coupled hyperbolic-elliptic nonlinear partial differential equations" which take many pages to write down (and a deep breath just to say!). For a mathematician, the difficulties lie in the fact that the equations are nonlinear and coupled also and in their sheer number of terms.

After he published his famous paper in 1916, Einstein later conceded that the mathematical difficulties of his General Theory of Relativity were a "very serious" impediment to its further development. So serious, in fact, that it took nearly 75 years before the best minds in the field could come close to solving the equations stated by the theory. Now, high performance computers permit more accurate modeling of the distortions of spacetime by massive objects, including black holes."

Answer 2

The clock on top of the tower runs slower because it is moving faster, not because of any effect of gravity. Space-time is a theoretical concept. It is space that is warped by a mass. It is a difficult thing to describe, the most common analogy is the bowling ball in the stretched blanket, but this two dimensional illustration leaves a lot to be desitred. To me it is easier to visualize space as being reluctant to move out of the way to make room for a mass and it hugs the surface of the mass causing a warp. Travelling through the universe would be 'cool,' this where time would be a factor, there is not enough of it.

Answer 3

Essentially, the stronger the gravity, the slower the rate of time - as referenced from a system with less gravity. A clock runs faster at the top of a tower than at its base (this has been experimentally proved.)

An all encompassing theory which could be applied like the more conventional ones that you mention in your question has alluded physisists (including Einstein) for over a hundred years now - but the search is definitely ongoing.