Conversation on the Theory of Relativity: December 2, 1919

A man falls from the top of a building. He lands on soft garbage. He survives the accident with minor bruises. There is someone who watches this accident, again by chance. He sees the accident and thinks deeply. Extremely complex ideas turn into mathematical formulas. A theory emerges. The person who watches the accident by chance is Albert Einstein, and the name of the transformation of complex ideas into mathematical formulas is the theory of relativity.

On November 6, 1919, a meeting was held at the Royal Society. The theory of relativity was discussed at this meeting. An interview was conducted with Einstein in The New York Times on December 2. In this interview, Einstein explained the theory of relativity in the simplest language possible.

The theory of relativity has changed the way humans perceive the universe. In an interview with The New York Times, Einstein modestly objects to the claim that the theory of relativity is as revolutionary as Newton's theory of gravity. He states that the theory of relativity has complementary features to Newton's theory.

Newton developed the theory with an apple falling on his head, and Einstein with a man falling from a roof. Relativity is based on the thesis that the concepts of time and space are determined by the motion of objects. In Galileo and Newton, time and space are considered as independent elements. In other words, the concept of the universe is based on time and space, which are thought to be independent. The science of mechanics is also based on this thesis.

Einstein explains that, according to the theses of Galileo and Newton, time and space can exist without the Sun, Earth and stars. However, Einstein emphasizes that the existence of these moving objects is necessary for the existence of time and space.

To simplify the subject of relativity, Einstein has an example like this: Assume that the Earth does not exist in the universe. Place a box the size of a room or a house in place of the Earth. This box is suspended by a rope. Imagine that there is a man in the center of the box. When the rope is pulled suddenly, the man standing in the center of the box will be positioned at the bottom of the box. In Newton's theory of gravity, the man falling to the bottom of the box is explained by the force of gravity. Einstein explains that the result seen when the man in the center of the box settles to the bottom due to the movement of the box and the result seen when the man settles to the bottom due to the force of gravity is the same. Einstein relates the movement of the box, which he defines as non-uniform motion, to mathematical formulas. He states that these formulas make Newton's formulas more precise and complete.

Einstein stated that the formulas he developed also provided an explanation for the planet Mercury, whose movements astronomers had struggled to understand for years. He even said that Sir Frank Dyson had expressed this idea at the Royal Society meeting.

It took 11 years until the theory of relativity was finally developed in 1916 with the work "General Relativity". In 1905, he published his "annus mirabilis" articles in the journal "Annalen der Physik". An article entitled "Special Relativity" is one of the four annus mirabilis articles and laid the foundations of the theory of relativity.