10 Summary of Week 5

This week, you’ve been thinking about time. Einstein’s theory of special relativity holds that everyone will measure the speed of light to have the same value, no matter how fast they are moving. It implies that time flows at different rates for different observers. His theory of general relativity meanwhile explains gravity as a curvature of space, and shows that time flows more slowly in a strong gravitational field.

A black hole is a region of space where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape. At the centre of a black hole, general relativity clashes with quantum mechanics, and space and time lose their identity. There’s not yet a theory that helps us understand what will happen in these conditions.

Next week, you will be leaving the realm of physics and exploring the boundaries of what is going on inside our own heads. What is consciousness? And where can the study of neuroscience lead us?

You can now move on to Week 6 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .