Science AMA Series: In 1915, Einstein published his general theory of
relativity. How are scientists using Einstein’s theory today? We cover
physics and astronomy for Science News. Ask us anything!
Abstract
Hi reddit! We are the astronomy and physics writers for Science News
(https://www.sciencenews.org/), a publication of the Society for Science
and the Public (https://www.societyforscience.org/). This November marks
the 100-year anniversary of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. To
celebrate, we published a special issue of Science News focusing on how
researchers are using Einstein’s theory today–from using it to magnify
the cosmos to exploring quantum entanglement. About Andrew Grant: I am
an award-winning physics writer for Science News. I have a bachelor’s
degree in physics from The College of New Jersey and a master’s in
journalism from New York University’s Science, Health and Environmental
Reporting Program. My story (“Entanglement: Gravity’s long-distance
connection”:
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/entanglement-gravitys-long-distance-connection)
examines a big idea to expand the scope of general relativity that
involves black holes, wormholes, holograms and a mysterious phenomenon
called quantum entanglement. Physicists are exploring whether
long-distance quantum connections are responsible for the geometry of
space and time in the universe. About Christopher Crockett: I am the
astronomy writer for Science News. I received by Ph.D. in astronomy from
the University of California, Los Angeles. After eight years of
searching for exoplanets, probing distant galaxies and exploring comets,
I realized I enjoyed talking about astronomy a lot more than actually
doing it. After being awarded a 2013 AAAS Mass Media Fellowship to write
for Scientific American, I left a research career at the U.S. Naval
Observatory to pursue a new life writing about anything and everything
within the local cosmological horizon. I joined Science News in early
2014. My story (“Using general relativity to magnify the cosmos”:
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/using-general-relativity-magnify-cosmos?mode=pick&context=163)
explores how scientists exploit phenomena predicted by the general
theory of relativity to study the universe. We here to answer your
questions about Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity and how
scientists are using it today! We’ll be back at 2pm ET (11am PT) to
answer your questions! Ask us anything! EDIT: Thanks for the awesome
questions! We had a blast. We’ll be checking in throughout the day to
answer more questions. Until next time!