Good morning. It's Tuesday, Dec. 9, and welcome to this week's Science & Technology newsletter. First time reading? Sign up here or click here to share with friends. |
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This week, we're covering general relativity. Albert Einstein published his theory of gravity 110 years ago, and we wanted to take some time to break down a few of its key ideas and how it became—alongside quantum mechanics—a pillar of modern physics. We're also fired up to explore volcanoes and revved up to talk about Tesla.
Let us know what you think! Whether it's feedback on our email format, a comment on this week's topics, suggestions for future coverage, or something else, we're happy to hear from readers. You can get in touch by simply replying to this email.
—Marco Machado, 1440 Science & Technology Section Editor |
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General relativity, explained
General relativity is Albert Einstein's theory of gravity, which redefines Isaac Newton's picture of the invisible force between masses as curves in spacetime. In Einstein's model, the universe possesses an underlying fabric that mass and energy can bend. What we perceive as motion due to the pull of gravity is actually matter and light traveling along these bends (see visualization).
Einstein's revision was necessary after he discovered that nothing could move faster than light, conflicting with Newton's belief that gravity had infinite speed (watch explainer). The equations of general relativity showed that it travels at the speed of light and explained inconsistencies between observations and predictions made by Newton's law of gravity, such as Mercury's orbit (explore simulation).
The theory predicted multiple phenomena that later proved to be true, including gravitational waves, black holes, differences in the passage of time at different elevations, and the bending of light around massive objects. General relativity enabled the development of GPS and provided the foundation for the Big Bang theory.
Also, check out ...
> An eclipse validated general relativity and made Albert Einstein a celebrity. (More)
> Atomic clocks can measure how gravity affects the passage of time. (More)
> The experiment that showed Earth's rotation drags spacetime. (More)
> View a gallery of Einstein rings created from light bending around galaxies. (More)
Explore everything else we've found on general relativity. |
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What are volcanoes?
Volcanoes are openings on the surface of a terrestrial object where materials from its interior can escape. On Earth, most volcanoes are found near tectonic plate boundaries, where interactions create openings for magma—melted rock, crystals, and gases—to emerge from the mantle. Others are found over hot spots, which may result from unusually hot plumes of magma in the mantle breaking through thinner regions of the lithosphere.
Volcanoes form when magma emerges from the surface at a vent, where molten rock is called lava (watch explainer). As the lava flows around the vent, it cools and solidifies, forming a volcano as successive layers of lava, solid rock, ash, and other pyroclastic products build over time. Variations in the characteristics of ejected material produce different types of volcanoes.
Studies of volcanoes have helped identify tectonic plate boundaries, the history of Earth’s magnetic field, and the chemical composition of Earth’s interior.
Also, check out ...
> "Dirty lightning" occurs in as many as 35% of volcanic eruptions. (More)
> Pyroclastic flows are often the deadliest aspect of volcanic eruptions. (More)
> Is it worth getting rid of trash by throwing it into volcanoes? (More)
> Explore volcanoes in our solar system beyond Earth. (More)
Explore everything else we've found on volcanoes. |
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Tesla 101
Tesla, Inc. is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of battery electric vehicles. Led by CEO Elon Musk, the company holds approximately 15% of the global market share for new BEV sales and almost half of all US BEV sales.
Named in honor of inventor Nikola Tesla, the company was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, when fewer than 10,000 EVs were in circulation. Musk became an early investor and chairman of the board in 2004 before taking over as CEO in 2008—the same year the Tesla Roadster debuted. It demonstrated the viability of EVs, with a range of more than 200 miles on a single charge, and paved the way for future models, such as the Model 3 and the Cybertruck.
Amid competition in the EV space, Tesla's vertical integration and Supercharger network of charging stations have helped it sustain growth. The company's self-driving software has also made it appealing to consumers, despite safety issues.
Also, check out ...
> In 2018, SpaceX launched a Tesla Roadster into heliocentric orbit. (More)
> New Jersey banned the sale of Tesla cars in 2014. (More)
> Is a Cybertruck really bulletproof? (More)
> Take a drone tour of a Tesla Gigafactory. (More)
Explore everything else we've found on Tesla. |
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Like all great scientists, we love spending time researching the latest scientific breakthroughs, tech releases, engaging explainers, and the connections between science and society that are making headlines. Here's what we found this week.
> Revitalizing human cells by replacing their powerhouses
Texas A&M University | James Cavin. Stem cells were found to produce twice the normal amount of mitochondria in the presence of flower-shaped particles and transferred their surplus to neighboring cells with deficits. Mitochondrial decline is linked to aging, heart disease, and neurodegenerative disorders. (Read)
> Identifying unexpected rainforest resilience to climate change by making tea
The Northern Arizona University Review | Staff. To learn whether dead leaves accelerate surrounding leaf death, researchers submerged living canopy-top leaves in the Panamanian rainforest in boiling water. Despite losing the ability to cool the air by evaporating water, the dead leaves were brighter, reflecting more sunlight. (Read)
> Explaining why some volcanoes erupt explosively ... or not at all
ETH Zürich | Christoph Elhardt. Gas bubbles—previously thought only to form due to pressure drops—have been found to also form via shear forces in rising magma. If the formation occurs early on in the volcanic vent, the bubbles can grow and combine to form degassing channels, relieving pressure in the volcano. (Read)
> Scientists use AI to discover previously unknown type of lion roar
University of Exeter | Tom Seymour. A team found African lions produce an "intermediary roar" alongside their better-known, full-throated roar. Bioacoustics software incorporating artificial intelligence automatically made the differentiation and identified individual lions by their roars with 95.4% accuracy. (Read)
> Generative AI systems are unlikely to ever author truly creative work
University of South Australia | Candy Gibson. A study found LLM creativity has a maximum of 0.25 on a scale from 0 (no creativity) to 1 (maximum creativity), on par with average human creative capacity. Under current design principles, AI systems produce content of creativity equal to their datasets, which professional and expert creators will recognize as lacking originality, novelty, and effectiveness. (Read) |
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"The real reason why general relativity is widely accepted is because it made predictions that were borne out by experimental observations." |
—Brian Greene, American physicist |
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