RELATIVITY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does relativity mean? 

• RELATIVITY (noun)
  The noun RELATIVITY has 2 senses:

1. (physics) the theory that space and time are relative concepts rather than absolute concepts

2. the quality of being relative and having significance only in relation to something else

  Familiarity information: RELATIVITY used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• RELATIVITY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(physics) the theory that space and time are relative concepts rather than absolute concepts

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

Einstein's theory of relativity; relativity; relativity theory; theory of relativity

Hypernyms ("relativity" is a kind of...):

scientific theory (a theory that explains scientific observations)

Domain category:

natural philosophy; physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions)

Domain member category:

event (a phenomenon located at a single point in space-time; the fundamental observational entity in relativity theory)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "relativity"):

Einstein's general theory of relativity; general relativity; general relativity theory; general theory of relativity (a generalization of special relativity to include gravity (based on the principle of equivalence))

Einstein's special theory of relativity; special relativity; special relativity theory; special theory of relativity (a physical theory of relativity based on the assumption that the speed of light in a vacuum is a constant and the assumption that the laws of physics are invariant in all inertial systems)

Derivation:

relativistic (relating or subject to the special or the general theory of relativity)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The quality of being relative and having significance only in relation to something else

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("relativity" is a kind of...):

quality (an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone)

Derivation:

relative (estimated by comparison; not absolute or complete)

relative (properly related in size or degree or other measurable characteristics; usually followed by 'to')

relativistic (of or relating to the philosophical doctrine of relativism)

 Context examples 

General relativity describes gravity as the curvature of space and special relativity describes the relationship between time and space.

(Hubble Uncovers Black Hole Disk that Shouldn't Exist, NASA)

A physical constant which appears in the mathematical formula of Newton's definition of gravitational universal force and in Einstein's theory of general relativity.

(Gravitational Constant, NCI Thesaurus)

In a second stage, Maeder focused on Newton's law, a specific instance of the equations of general relativity.

(There May Be No Dark Matter, Dark Energy in Universe, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos.

(Gravitational Waves Detected 100 Years After Einstein's Prediction, NASA)

Relativistic speeds are those approaching the speed of light, as described by Albert Einstein's theory of relativity.

(NuSTAR sees rare blurring of black hole light, NASA)

Glowing gas on the left side of the disk moves toward us so fast that the effects of Einstein’s relativity give it a boost in brightness; the opposite happens on the right side, where gas moving away us becomes slightly dimmer.

(NASA Visualization Shows a Black Hole’s Warped World, NASA)

According to Einstein’s theory of general relativity, the rate of expansion is determined by the properties of dark energy plus the amount of matter in the Universe, where the latter is mostly made up of unseen material called dark matter.

("Russian Doll" Galaxy Clusters Reveal Information About Dark Energy, NASA)

However, the unexpected presence of a disk so close to a black hole offers a unique opportunity to test Albert Einstein's theories of relativity.

(Hubble Uncovers Black Hole Disk that Shouldn't Exist, NASA)

The way we represent the universe and its history are described by Einstein's equations of general relativity, Newton's universal gravitation and quantum mechanics.

(There May Be No Dark Matter, Dark Energy in Universe, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

According to general relativity, a pair of black holes orbiting around each other lose energy through the emission of gravitational waves, causing them to gradually approach each other over billions of years, and then much more quickly in the final minutes.

(Gravitational Waves Detected 100 Years After Einstein's Prediction, NASA)