Theory of relativity

See also Counterexamples to Relativity.

The theory of relativity has been repeatedly contradicted by experiments, such as precise measurements of the advance of the perihelion of Mercury that show a shift greater than predicted by Relativity, well beyond the margin of error. The theory of relativity is unrelated to Moral Relativism, and is a purely physical theory that states in its simplest form, that any physical measurement of distance, time or speed (and their derivates) has to be made with respect to another object - that is to say, nothing is fixed in position as an absolute reference point. The special theory of relativity extends this to explain gravity, as the distortion of space and time by an object, the degree of which being proportional to the mass of the object.

Criticism of the theory, caused physicist Robert Dicke to be denied the Nobel Prize, and it is unlikely tenure or a Ph.D would be awarded to any critic of the theory. As potential Nobel candidates are never announced, except in the case of the Peace Prize, this can only be speculation.

Relativity refers to two closely-related mathematical theories in physics:

• Special relativity (SR) is a theory which describes the laws of motion for non-accelerating bodies traveling at a significant fraction of the speed of light. As speeds approach zero, Special Relativity tends towards equivalence with Newton's Laws of Motion. Special Relativity was developed by Hendrik Lorentz, Henri Poincaré, and Hermann Minkowski, and Albert Einstein.

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