Science quiz: 110 years of general relativity

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Each exact solution of the mathematical relations of general relativity (Q1) has a name. Name this person, who solved the relations for what space looks like around a spherical and non-rotating black hole, while serving as a soldier in World War I.

2 / 6 |
Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity is written in a compact set of linked equations that relate how spacetime responds to how matter and energy are distributed. What are these central mathematical relations, which are often named after Einstein, called?

3 / 6 |
Instead of treating gravity as an invisible pull across empty space, general relativity says that mass and energy tell spacetime how to bend and that bent spacetime tells objects how to move. Name the geometric property of spacetime that describes this bending in the theory.

4 / 6 |
Einstein didn’t invent the mathematical tools he needed for general relativity from scratch. Instead he drew on the work of a 19th century Italian mathematician who, with Tullio Levi-Civita, formalised the mathematics of spaces. Name this mathematician, whose contributions to differential geometry eventually made Einstein’s theory possible.

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Before the general theory of relativity, physicists described the attraction between two masses using a simpler theory that treated gravity as a force that acted instantaneously across some distance. Name the originator of this theory, which includes a law saying force depends on the product of the masses and the inverse square of the distance.

6 / 6 |
In order to solve problems in general relativity, physicists need to first describe quantities like energy, momentum, and the properties of spacetime in a way that works in any coordinate system and any direction. Which mathematical tool, which generalises the concept of scalars and vectors to higher dimensions, is used for this purpose?