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**Einstein's Theory Of Relativity and its Effects on Society **

In 1905, Albert Einstein published his special theory of relativity. This describes the motion of particles at the speed of light. This theory outlines 3 key facts. One would be that the speed of light is the same for anything regardless of the speed that the particle is moving. Another fact would be that the laws of physics are in a inertial frame of reference. This means that the frame of reference is not one that is accelerated. Famously, the special theory of relativity is responsible for creating the equation, E=mc^2. Finally, the theory also states that time is different for observers relative to each other. This equation was able to create a new relationship between energy and mass. In 1915, Einstein also published his general theory of relativity which stated that objects move with respect to one another. He developed this theory to explain gravity. Einstein was able to state that if the car was sped up, slowed down, or driven around a curve, the occupant could not tell whether the forces so produced were due to gravitation or whether they were acceleration forces created by pressure on the accelerator, on the brake, or by turning the car sharply to the right or left. Since Einstein's Theory of Relativity is mostly an accepted theory, humans were able to utilize it to our advantage in a variety of ways. Therefore,from Einstein's Theory of Relativity, we can deduce that human life has been enhanced by the theory in the forms of GPS, nuclear energy, and philosophy.

The first advancement that Einstein's Theory of Relativity has brought to the world would be the GPS, or global positioning system. This system is used by institutes such as the US military,commercial aircraft, and now normal everyday people. It is possible to attain GPS on an automobile, cellphone, or even a handheld device. GPS works with 24 satellites orbiting the Earth. These satellites have internal atomic clocks that are very accurate. GPS functions by comparing the times of the other satellites and triangulating the distances(Pogge). According to Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity, time is relative to the positioning of the observer. Thus, the accuracy of the GPS system relies on this theory to calculate the differences of time between the satellite and the observer. A small miscalculation of the time could result in a massive error in positioning. Therefore, without the theory of relativity, we could not determine that there is a difference between the time of the observer and the satellite, which would result in miscalculations of the position. With this said, GPS units would be highly ineffective and be rendered useless due to the inaccuracy if the Theory of Relativity was not applied to the calculation of one's position.

Another advancement that the Theory of Relativity has brought would be the use of Nuclear Power. Since Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity brought the equation of E=mc^2. This equation was able to create a relationship between energy and mass. From this equation, we were able to create the idea of nuclear power. The equation says that an object at rest has an energy E equal to its mass m times the speed of light c multiplied by itself, or squared(Dine). Since the speed of light is so huge, the mass needs to be only minuscule to create a huge amount of power. With this, we are able to create with only 1 gram of mass, the same amount of energy as 22,000 tons of TNT. Of course, the mass would have to be traveling at or close to the speed of light. By using Newton's Theory of Relativity, we are able to create heat energy which is changed to electric energy in nuclear power plants. Not only is nuclear energy used only for electricity, it is also used in the production of nuclear weapons. A common belief would be that Einstein helped produce the atomic bomb. With his formula of E=mc^2,bomb producers were able to create the catastrophic atomic bomb. Although the atomic bomb is proof that the theory of relativity brought bad things to mankind, nuclear energy is not. With nuclear energy, we are able to consume less fossil fuels and cut down on some of the air pollution that normal coal and oil power plants create.  The Theory of Relativity has also changed the philosophy that some have. Philosophers changed their views when Relativity was introduced. Postmodernism and philosophic relativism was introduced. Prior to relativity, philosophers such as Aristotle, Kant, and Mill argued that there was an absolute truth and an absolute way of approaching various aspects of life(Arora). There was a clear right and wrong viewpoint. However, with the introduction of relativity, people's acquired facts were no longer absolute. Everything depended the person's own ideas which could be used to determine what is right and what is wrong. Prior accepted truths could still be valid but not necessarily the absolute fact. For example, If one sees a young child in a fire, the right thing to do depends on the viewpoint of the observer instead of a total absolute truth. Before the Theory of Relativity, one would know that saving the young child is correct and that not doing anything would be completely wrong. However, with the Theory of Relativity, the observer is able to decide what is right and what is wrong.  Einstein's theory of relativity was a completely new idea that must have been difficult to grasp. Thankfully, we were able to comprehend and utilize the information to our advantage. Numerous advancements have been made because of Einstein's theory. These advancements have covered almost all areas of human life from warfare to how people think. Specifically, GPS, nuclear energy and even philosophy have been improved by Einstein's Theory of Relativity. There is no reason to believe that more advancements will not be made that do not use Einstein's Theory of Relativity, as it has become such a widely accepted theory with a lot of modern technology already stemming or employing it in some shape. __Works cited__ Pogge, Richard. "GPS and Relativity." __The Ohio State University Department of Astronomy__. 27 Jan. 2009 . This was a good site. It provided a lot of good information specifically for GPS systems and their dependance on Einstein's theory. Lots of technical info was given but with an ample amount of examples, the information was easy to understand. The article is also from Ohio State's Department of Astronomy so the information is reliable.

Dine, Michael. "Relativity." __ NASA __. 27 Jan. 2009 <http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/relativity_worldbook.html>. <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">This article seems to be quite good. It provides the history of the discovery of the Theory of Relativity from Galileo to Einstein. The author is able to do this professionally with many scientific words, but normal people will have no problem understanding the article. The author's point of view and goal is to clearly teach the general public about the history of the theory. The author has plenty of authority as he his a PH.D. This article was also posted on NASA's website so it was probably cross checked. Although this was a good site, there could be some improvements. It would be nice if there was some more info on the people and the theory. There is plenty of different info but more elaborate info for each section would be better.

Arora, Hans. "Einstein’s Theory of Relativity: Implications Beyond Science? — Science in Society." __Science in Society__. 27 Jan. 2009 <http://scienceinsociety.northwestern.edu/content/articles/2008/research-digest/student-papers/einstein/einstein2019s-theory-of- relativity-implications-beyond-science>. This was also a good web site. It provided a great amount of info on all aspects of Einstein's Theory. It explained what the theory was about and some of it's uses in society. The portion on philosophy was very useful. The language used was easy to understand and examples were given to make understanding the information a lot easier. The information is reliable since it is from Northwestern University's website.

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