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Haiku about RelativityOne time, I was atA forum, and I started A thread 'bout haiku. After a few posts, Someone said that haiku must Be about nature. I replied, saying I liked science, not nature. That was my topic. I wrote some short ones. About evolution and The Big Bang theory. But I wanted more. I thought back to a website That I once had seen: "Relativity Explained using words of just Four letters or less." (Of course, on the page, They did not use a haiku. I just did that here. If it would please you, You may see this page yourself The link is right here.) Anyway, I thought, If they could use just short words, Haiku was easy. So, I sat down and Wrote the following poem I hope you like it: Relativity. Hard to explain in haiku. But I think I'll try. First, there's "special;" it Has no acceleration Only about speed. For all observers Who do not accelerate. Physics is the same. Imagine two guys Floating out in open space. They're named Al and Bert. If they move apart Does Al move, or is it Bert? There's no way to tell. But what about light? Al could take a lamp with him And then turn it on. Light travels at c. Al can compare self to light To find his speed, right? Nope, that would not work. Light always travels at c. For all observers. How does this matter? This fact changes many things. Here's an example: We have a train car. Two leaders at front and back Plus there's a table. Leaders just fought war. Now, they want to sign treaty At exact same time. So, here's what they do: They put light bulb on table Half-way in between. When they see the light Then they will sign the treaty. Will be the same time? An observer on The car would say both leaders Signed at the same time. "The light left the bulb, Traveled exact same distance Reached ends at same time." But, an observer Sitting beside the train tracks Would not think the same. "After light turned on The train was still moving fast Distances were changed. The leader in back Moved closer to where bulb was He saw the light first." So, which one is right? The answer is both of them. Not intuitive. So, time's relative. It moves differently for some Than does for others. Also, without time Length and mass are relative Only c's constant. That was the "special" Type of relativity Now, for "general." So, you cannot say Whether or not you're moving. But that isn't all. You also can't speak About acceleration. Why? Let me explain. To put it simply: Gravity accelerates Just like space ships do. More complicated: Imagine a fast space ship With you inside it. You feel a pull Towards the bottom of your ship Just like gravity. What's making this pull? It is the whole universe. As it goes past you. Same with centrifuge: The whole universe revolves Around the sample tube. Neither you nor tube Can say if they are moving Or the universe. When you are moving Space-time gets "warped" around you Warping makes the pull. Same with gravity. A large mass will warp space-time. And create a pull. "What is this 'space-time'?" It is hard to understand. I'll try to explain. Usually, when Things travel, they move in a Perfectly straight line. However, mass or Acceleration can cause A straight line to bend. If you travel near A large mass, you'll see your ship Won't move in a line Rather, it will curve Around the large mass. This is Because space-time bent. In three dimensions Your ship traveled in a curve But not in space-time. In four dimensions, Your ship took the shortest path That space-time allowed. This is how orbits Work; we're just moving through a Bent-up space-time field. Of course, there are some Other cool effects of this: Black holes, time travel. But I will leave those For a second discussion I'll have an encore! Many have told me "Haikus must mention seasons." So here goes: Summer.
Member of the Science Humor Net Ring
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