Time Is Relative . . .

I was reading a fascinating article on Albert Einstein. Some of his most insightful discoveries about light, atoms, and time were made in 1905 when he was only 26 years old. During that year he developed his theory of relativity concerning the nature of time.

Einstein's special theory of relativity, published in June 1905, disagreed with a fundamental belief of scientists such as Issac Newton--that the measurement of time is a constant throughout the universe.

For example, imagine that you and a friend perfectly synchronize your watches. Your friend then flies around the world, while you stay at home. When he returns, the time displayed by his watch will lag a fraction behind the time shown on your watch. From your perspective, time slowed down for your traveling friend. The difference is, of course, infinitesimal at human speeds. However, when approaching the speed of light, not only does time slow down significantly but objects also become smaller and their mass increases. Einstein's theory maintained that the speed of light, not time, is constant across the universe.

Other discoveries Einstein made regarding the secrets of light are the basis for light sensors in digital cameras. What does all of this have to do with web design? Not much . . . Not directly . . . But this blog is called web designer ramblings . . .