The only possible interpretation of the curving laser beam, then, is that the space inside the cabin is in some way curved. On a curved surface, the shortest distance between two points is actually a curve, technically known as a geodesic, which we can perhaps visualize when we think, for example, of a plane flying the shortest route between London and New York which, as travelers will know, follows a "great circle" path over Newfoundland rather than what appears to be a more direct straight line on a flat map. However, a straight line is only the shortest distance between two points on a flat surface. Now, we know that light always takes the shortest path between two points, which we usually think of as a straight line. If we imagine again the astronaut in his accelerating spaceship cabin from the previous section, and imagine him pointing a laser horizontally across the cabin, the upward motion of the spacecraft would result in the path of the laser appearing to curve (very) slightly downwards as it crosses the cabin.
- Speed of Light and the Principle of Relativity.
- Special and General Relativity Introduction.Main Topics > Special and General Relativity > Curved Space Topic Index: A Few Random Facts Where in the universe is the Earth? How fast are we traveling through space? How fast does light travel? How far is it to space, the Moon, the Sun, the stars, etc? How many stars are there? How does the Sun shine? What different types of stars are there? What is the human body (and the Earth, the Sun, the Universe) made of? How many molecules/atoms are there in each cubic meter? What if the history of the universe were squeezed into the period of one year? What are the coldest and the hottest objects in the universe? What is the electromagnetic spectrum? What is a planet? What is a dwarf planet? Why do the planets orbit the Sun?
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