Jeffrey Bennett
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Curriculum Vita
    • Personal Statement
    • Donation Program
  • BOOKS
  • EVENTS
    • Elementary School Visits
    • Middle/High School Visits
    • Teacher Presentations/Workshops
    • College Math Colloquia
    • College Science Colloquia
    • Corporate Audiences
    • Public Lectures
  • MODEL SOLAR SYSTEMS
    • Colorado Scale Model Solar System
    • Voyage Scale Model Solar System
  • RESOURCES
  • BLOG
  • CONTACT
  • Home
  • Jeff in the Media
  • Videos
  • Featured Videos
  • The Relativity Tour

The Relativity Tour

June 12, 2015 / JeffreyBennett / Featured Videos, Relativity, Space News, Videos

See a recording of Jeff’s relativity tour lecture for the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lectures (recorded May 6, 2015 at Foothill College’s Smithwick Theater):

See a recording of Jeff’s relativity tour lecture at Fiske planetarium:

This  year (2015) marks the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s publication of his general theory of relativity. Today, this theory lies at the foundation of virtually all modern physics and astronomy. It’s no exaggeration to say that you really can’t understand the universe without understanding at least something about Einstein’s work. For example, common questions such as “what is the universe expanding into?” and “what is a black hole?” (and “what is happening in the movie Interstellar?”) cannot be answered without it. On a more practical level, your GPS navigation unit would not work without taking into account the fact that, as general relativity predicts, time runs very slightly faster at the altitudes where GPS satellites orbit than it does here on the ground. (There is a also a time correction from special relativity, due to the orbital speed of the satellites). And turning to the philosophical, relativity suggests a type of permanence to all events that, I believe, might cause people to behave much better if all of us understood it.

For all these reasons, after a full century of general relativity, it seems that it is about time that everyone try to become familiar with what Einstein discovered and why these discoveries matter. Many people are contributing to this effort; indeed, the United Nations has designated this 2015 anniversary as the “International Year of Light.”

For my own part, I have decided to embark on a “relativity tour,” in which I am volunteering to provide public lectures on relativity throughout the United States. The tour has opened with three sold-out shows at Fiske Planetarium in Boulder, CO.

For a list of upcoming events, or to learn more and book an event for your location, please see the details at www.bigkidscience.com/relativity-tour/.

Comments are closed.

Most Popular Blog Posts

Blog Archives

Blog Categories

  • China/Fang Lizhi (2)
  • Climate/Global Warming Science (9)
  • Jeff in the Media (71)
    • News Features (21)
    • Other Fun Stuff (6)
    • Radio/Podcast Interviews (16)
    • Videos (30)
      • About Textbooks (3)
      • Featured Videos (13)
      • School Presentations (3)
      • TV Interviews (11)
  • Math/Stats (9)
  • Most Popular (5)
  • Op/Ed Pieces (32)
  • Relativity (15)
  • Resources for Teachers (31)
  • Space News (67)
  • Story Time From Space (9)
  • Uncategorized (1)

Recent Blog Posts

  • TV and Podcast Interviews for 2023/24 Solar Eclipses September 14, 2022
  • Time to Get Ready for the Incredible USA Solar Eclipses of 2023 and 2024! September 14, 2022
  • Planets in the Pre-Dawn Sky! (See them now or wait until 2040) June 21, 2022
  • Lunar Eclipse Sunday Night! Plus The Milky Way’s Black Hole, Countdown to the 2023 and 2024 Solar Eclipses, School Visits, Books… May 12, 2022
  • JWST Launch, New Scale Model Solar System, More (Dec. 21, 2021) December 21, 2021
  • Mars Helicopter Ingenuity! Plus Free, Earth Week Events for Kids and Adults April 12, 2021
  • Live from the International Space Station! January 22, 2021
  • Astronomical Sky Events! + New Climate Curriculum December 5, 2020
  • ISS Event POSTPONED September 19, 2020
  • Join Us Monday for a Live Event from the International Space Station September 16, 2020
  • Positive News to Share: Climate Action, Mars, Comet & Meteor Shower August 1, 2020
  • Comet NEOWISE now Visible! July 11, 2020
  • Tomorrow’s Solar Eclipse June 20, 2020
  • Interpreting Antibody Test Results, Scale of the Universe, and More April 26, 2020
  • Coronavirus Risks and Lessons March 14, 2020
Jeffrey Bennett | Website by: Saffron Design | All Rights Reserved | © 2025