Einsteins's Theory of General Relativity

August 30th, 2020

By: Haris Ahmad

In 1905, Einstein published his special theory of relativity which was vastly criticized and people had started mocking him as they thought that, how can such a person explain gravity better than Newton did in his laws? However, a decade later, in 1916, Einstein published the General theory of relativity which comprehensively described the geometry of space.  

https://insidetheperimeter.ca/einstein-storyteller/

It was this theory that was going to change our perception of gravity itself. For decades we thought that the universe was ruled by Euclidian geometry which we learn in schools. Euclidian geometry suggests things like; parallel lines can never intersect, and the angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees, and so on. This, however, was not the case in General relativity. On the contrary, general relativity showed that just like you can distort things drawn on a piece of paper by bending it, space can also be distorted due to bending around massive objects.  

Moreover, bending a two-dimensional piece of paper results in it being wrapped around a third spatial dimension and similarly, the bending of space around massive objects results in the third dimension being wrapped around a fourth spatial dimension according to the distribution of all matter around the universe, since mass is the property which causes the bending of space-time fabric. This fourth spatial dimension is impossible for us humans to comprehend because we are limited to only being able to comprehend until the third dimension.  

However, we humans still use resemblances to represent the fabric of space in a two-dimensional representation of the third dimension showing that the fabric of space-time is bent around massive celestial bodies. This way of representation is not much accurate but it’s simply the best we can do to understand this phenomenon. This concludes by bringing forward the idea that the universe is non-Euclidian and even parallel lines can indeed intersect if they move through curved space-time. 

 

https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/309369/the-fabric-of-space-time

Einstein calls this work, the general theory of relativity due to the fact that this applies to all reference frames which means that it can apply to any acceleration (a= any value). The general theory of relativity is an enhancement to Newton’s law of relativity due to the fact that Newton explains the effects of the gravitational force but he never explains what gravity itself is, which Einstein did.   

Hence, due to Einstein’s general theory of relativity, we can now deduce that gravity is the bending and warping of the fabric of space-time. An example of this is how a dense ball bends the surface of a trampoline.  

Therefore, this suggests why less massive objects tend to fall towards more massive objects and hence, this is what explains the dynamics of the universe such as, why the planets in the Solar system orbit the Sun. Furthermore, the idea of general relativity also deduces the fact that space and time are not separate but instead, they shape the interlinked four-dimensional space-time fabric. Nevertheless, matter obeys space-time to know how to move whereas space-time obeys matter to know how to curve.  

The theory of general relativity has been confirmed by countless experiments of which one, made Einstein famous overnight. It was the experiment conducted on the event of a total Solar eclipse in 1919 which proved that light from distant objects is bent by the gravity of massive objects which in this experiment was our very own parent star, the Sun; whereby the blocking of the Sun's light allowed us to directly observe the light from the star that was behind the Sun which appeared to be in a different location than it normally is. 

  

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/84301824259043502/

In addition, the phenomenon of gravitational lensing also confirms the general theory of relativity in which light from celestial objects behind extremely dense objects such as black holes is bent in such a way, that it results in multiple images of the object seen around the black hole.

  

https://astronomy.com/magazine/2012/11/diy-gravitational-lensing

Enceladus

23rd August 2020 

By: Haris Ahmad 

Saturn is the second largest planet of the Solar System and is frequently known as the jewel of the Solar System since it is so elegant. Saturn was named after the Roman God of agriculture because an ancient myth stated that Saturn introduced agriculture to his people by teaching them how to farm the land. Another fun fact about Saturn is that the day, Saturday is named after Saturn and it means Saturn's day.   

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2020/07/18/if-you-ever-wanted-to-see-the-rings-of-saturn-this-is-the-week-theyre-brightest-and-best/

Saturn belongs to a type of planets that are called Gas Giants which simply suggests that they are made mostly of Gas. Saturn is made up of 94% Hydrogen and 6% Helium and small amounts of methane and ammonia. This planet is the second largest in the Solar System and is famous for its rings. This planet got its rings due to the comets and asteroids that reached its Roche limit and broke into pieces due to the immense gravitational force exerted by the planet. If you're wondering what Roche limit is; it is the limit in the orbit of a planet where objects will shatter into pieces due to the immense gravitational field exerted by the planet. Believe it or not, Saturn has 81 confirmed orbiting Moons and holds the title of the moon king of the Solar System. Similar to the other planets’ moons, Saturn’s moons have also formed by the debris that orbited the planet long ago. Among these exist some of the most mesmerizing moons that will amaze you. However, in this blog, we will talk about one which is known as  Enceladus.  

This moon was discovered when NASA’s billion-dollar probe, Cassini was on a flyby past Saturn on January 16th, 2005. It captured many pictures of Saturn but in some pictures, it saw something unusual. It saw bright lights coming off of the South pole of Saturn’s moon Enceladus. It saw enormous jets of plumes at its south pole that looked like geothermal vents. These plumes looked more than 8000 times larger than the geysers found on planet Earth  shooting jets of liquid 150 miles into space.

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA23175

This instantly caught NASA scientists' attention because if that liquid was water, there could be life on the moon, and hence, NASA scientists were now thinking of changing the objectives of the probe. The problem, however, was that Cassini was designed to observe planets from vast distances, not to go close to celestial objects and plumes of liquid. NASA had to change its mission goals and manually repurpose its instruments to make it go through Enceladus’s plumes of liquid to find if it really is water. It took 3 years to reprogram the probe and therefore, Cassini went through the jets of liquid coming out of Enceladus 22 times and discovered that it was indeed water. This discovery was the most important discovery of Cassini and this helped uncover the fact that there are hot and salty water oceans on Enceladus. In the near future, NASA will send another probe to Enceladus to land on it and search for alien life because they believe that Enceladus has all the elements that can lead to marine life.  

Pakistan - My Homeland

August 16, 2020

By: Haris Ahmad[1]

My country, Pakistan came into being on 14th August 1947 after the struggle and sacrifices of thousands of Muslims. This country not only means freedom and independence but also represents the Muslim Ideology that has to be preserved, which has come to us as a precious gift. Henceforth, most of the Muslims in the subcontinent finally had a place that they could call home, where they could be free of the oppression that they faced in the past. They had finally got a place where they could freely practice their religion and preach further. 

We are blessed with a land that consists of nearly all kinds of topography and countless displays of attractive nature. Tourists from all over the world come to explore this beauty. Pakistan is home to humongous mountains, scorching deserts, high plateaus, rich plainlands as well as beach fronts. I belong to Dir valley located in the northern areas of Pakistan which is home to high mountains and fertile farmlands where natural beauty dominates. Moreover, it is also home to a diverse variety of animals. 

An example of the natural beauty of Pakistan:

https://www.travelanddestinations.com/best-beautiful-places-in-pakistan/

Furthermore, the land of Pakistan is rich in natural resources which can be used to boost the economy as well as provide energy for the primary needs.

Nevertheless, I am happy to see that perception of an unsafe country that was given to Pakistan is gradually changing and tourism is increasing. People no longer have the fear of risking their lives by visiting Pakistan and this taboo is changing thanks to our leadership and YouTube where YouTubers from all around the world are exploring the beauty of Pakistan and are inspiring others to come and explore this beautiful land. In conclusion, Pakistan is a country that consists of all kinds of beauty which need to be explored by every adventurous enthusiast of nature out there. 

Planet X - Another Planet in the Solar System?

August 9, 2020

By: Haris Ahmad[1]

The Solar System is a gravitationally bound planetary system of the Sun and the objects that orbit it. Till 2006, it was a fact that there are 9 planets in the Solar System but then Pluto was classified as ineligible for the rank of a planet and therefore, it was called a dwarf planet instead. There are many reasons for this with one being its small size. 

Henceforth, the Solar System was known to have 8 planets. I have explained in detail about nearly all of the aspects of these planets in my previous blogs. There are 4 rocky planets, 2 gas giants, and 2 ice giants in the Solar System. However, there is another object lurking in the dark which has baffled the scientists as they cannot find its exact location.

This object is known as 'Planet X' or 'Planet 9'. It is a hypothetical planet which may be the size of Neptune and it orbits the Sun in an elongated path beyond Pluto. It could easily have a mass 10 times the planet Earth’s. Another shocking fact is that it takes 10 to 20 thousand years for it to orbit the Sun once. Astronomers are still on the lookout for this planet.

Credits: NASA

This object may not necessarily be a planet. Scientists have been detecting a gravitational disturbance in the Kuiper belt (an asteroid belt beyond Neptune) which suggests the existence of this celestial body. Moreover, the presence of this large celestial body could be an explanation of the unique orbits of five smaller objects discovered in the Kuiper Belt. 

The director of NASA's Planetary Science Division Jim Green stated that "This is not, however, the detection or discovery of a new planet. It's too early to say with certainty there's a so-called Planet X. What we're seeing is an early prediction based on modeling from limited observations. It's the start of a process that could lead to an exciting result."

This clearly explains the fact that no one is sure yet. This may even be a primordial black hole the size of a basketball. Primordial black holes can be as small as an atom but can still possess the mass of a mountain. These were formed soon after the big bang when radiation dominated the universe.

If this object is a black hole, then it may be a great discovery and can help us understand black holes in detail. It can a huge breakthrough in Astronomy because we still don’t know much about black holes but when you have one in your star system, it may help you answer questions that were asked for decades e.g. How does a black hole look like, what is inside the event horizon, are black holes a gateway to another universe, etc.