Science Fun Fact #5: In a hurry? The earth beneath your feet is spinning at almost 800 mph
And yet you don’t feel it. In fact, the Earth itself moves around the Sun at more than 65,000 mph, and Sun revolves around the center of the Milky Way galaxy at nearly 80,000 mph. This all leads to an interesting question: what kind of motion can you feel, at least in principle, and what kind is it simply impossible to feel? If you follow this question all the way to its logical conclusion, you’ll go on a journey that bumps right into some of the most interesting physics of our time: Albert Einstein’s theories of relativity.
At the Festival, there are a couple of prime opportunities to find out more about Einstein and relativity. The cosmology event, Echoes from the Beginning, later today, will explore Einstein’s legacy for describing the universe as a whole. Alan Alda’s Dear Albert, starring Anthony LaPaglia and directed by Daniel Sullivan, views Einstein’s life and science through the lens of his personal letters. And in Beyond Einstein, join physicists Leonard Susskind and Jim Gates, and historian of science Peter Galison, as they explore the history and state-of-the-art of Einstein’s dream of a unified theory encompassing all of physics.
Image: © Science Festival Foundation.
This post was written by Markus
Tags: Alan Alda, Anthony LaPaglia, cosmology, Daniel Sullivan, Dear Albert, Echoes from the Beginning, Einstein, Future cities, Sustainability