What Is Einstein's Equation?

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Einstein's equation is an equation between four by four matrices. The one on the left is derivatives of the metric tensor, which is a way of characterizing the curvature of spacetime with a very definite formula relating them. On the right is the amount of energy, mass, heat and momentum also in spacetime. You can calculate it or you can have your computer calculate it.

My little pandemic-lockdown contribution to the world was a series of videos called The Biggest Ideas in the Universe. The idea was to explain physics in a pedagogical way, concentrating on established ideas rather than speculations, with the twist that I tried to include and explain any equations that seemed useful, even though no prior mathematical knowledge was presumed. I’m in the process of writing a series of three books inspired by those videos, and the first one is coming out now: The Biggest Ideas In The Universe: Space, Time, and Motion. For this solo episode I go through one of the highlights from the book: explaining the mathematical and physical basis of Einstein’s equation of general relativity, relating mass and energy to the curvature of spacetime. Hope it works!

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