Science AMA Series: In 1915, Einstein published his general theory of relativity. How are scientists using Einstein's theory today? We cover physics and astronomy for Science News. Ask us anything!

Abstract

Hi reddit! We are the astronomy and physics writers for Science News (https://www.sciencenews.org/), a publication of the Society for Science and the Public (https://www.societyforscience.org/). This November marks the 100-year anniversary of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. To celebrate, we published a special issue of Science News focusing on how researchers are using Einstein's theory today--from using it to magnify the cosmos to exploring quantum entanglement. About Andrew Grant: I am an award-winning physics writer for Science News. I have a bachelor’s degree in physics from The College of New Jersey and a master’s in journalism from New York University’s Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program. My story (“Entanglement: Gravity's long-distance connection”: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/entanglement-gravitys-long-distance-connection) examines a big idea to expand the scope of general relativity that involves black holes, wormholes, holograms and a mysterious phenomenon called quantum entanglement. Physicists are exploring whether long-distance quantum connections are responsible for the geometry of space and time in the universe. About Christopher Crockett: I am the astronomy writer for Science News. I received by Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of California, Los Angeles. After eight years of searching for exoplanets, probing distant galaxies and exploring comets, I realized I enjoyed talking about astronomy a lot more than actually doing it. After being awarded a 2013 AAAS Mass Media Fellowship to write for Scientific American, I left a research career at the U.S. Naval Observatory to pursue a new life writing about anything and everything within the local cosmological horizon. I joined Science News in early 2014. My story (“Using general relativity to magnify the cosmos”: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/using-general-relativity-magnify-cosmos?mode=pick&context=163) explores how scientists exploit phenomena predicted by the general theory of relativity to study the universe. We here to answer your questions about Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and how scientists are using it today! We'll be back at 2pm ET (11am PT) to answer your questions! Ask us anything! EDIT: Thanks for the awesome questions! We had a blast. We'll be checking in throughout the day to answer more questions. Until next time!