Einstein's special theory of relativity was consistent with the work of many theoreticians working on the paradoxes of electromagnetism. It elegantly tied many of their partial results into a coherent theory and was readily accepted by them. As years passed, more and more researchers extended the theory and began using it to explain anomalous experimental results. In particular, the relativistic equivalence of mass and energy, formulated by Einstein in one of his 1905 papers, explains the enormous amounts of energy released in radioactive decay, nuclear fission, and nuclear fusion. Special relativity in quantum mechanics explains the fine structure of atomic spectra and the existence of antimatter. (Carl Anderson discovered the positron, the first antiparticle, in 1932.)

In 1916, Karl Schwarzschild used general relativity to predict the existence of black holes. Edwin Hubble discovered the expansion of the universe in 1924, a phenomenon best explained by general relativity. In 1930, J. Robert Oppenheimer used general relativity to predict the existence of neutron stars, discovered in the form of pulsars in 1965. The Hubble Space Telescope continues to discover "Einstein lenses" formed by the gravitational effect of galaxies on light from more distant objects. The images formed from these galactic lenses are all the information available on some of the most distant objects in the cosmos.

Atomic clocks have become so accurate that relativistic time effects, both special and general, are easily measured. The U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) and the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) must both correct for the effects of special and general relativity in order to provide users with accurate position data.

Free term papers are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can use our professional writing services to buy a custom written research paper, term paper, or essay on Biographies at affordable price. CustomTermPapers is the best solution for those who seek help in writing term papers, essays, and research papers related to Biographies and other relevant topics.