Redefining Reality - The Intellectual Implications of Modern Science

speed up going in and slow down coming out. If it were not
rolled hard enough, it would not make it out but would roll
straight back to the
bowling ball.
If the tennis ball
were not rolled right
into the curved area
but close by, the
path would curve,
just as we see with
comets. If the tennis
ball were rolling at
the right angle, the
result would be a
circular orbit, just as
we see with planets
and moons.
© StocktrekImages/Thinkstock.
If Einstein is right and space is curved by matter and energy,
we could account for the gravitational phenomena we observe in
a way that makes gravity a natural part of the theory of relativity
and accounts for the accelerated reference frames Einstein left
out in the special theory. Tests by the British astronomer Arthur
massive objects.
The idea that space is curved is responsible for much of the long-
happen if we packed enough mass and energy into a small enough
area. The space would warp so severely that straight lines would
curve back in on themselves. Light that went into the area would
never re-emerge. Emitting no light, the area would be completely
black and would function as a hole in space.
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