This development in terms of theories, was as significant as the invention of telescope by Galileo Galilei before which, the Earth was perceived to be the centre of the universe. This meant that no matter how fast you travelled and wherever in the universe you were, you would always measure the speed of light to be exactly 186 million miles per second.Įinstein’s special relativity gave Physics a new power to look at the universe. He established that the speed of light would remain constant in all inertial frames of reference. In 1905, Einstein came up with his special theory of relativity that transformed our understanding of the universe. The challenge of digging up gravity, which was Newtons’ legacy, was taken up by Albert Einstein who was fascinated about chasing a light beam at a speed of light since his childhood but was also willing to explore the challenging horizons of gravity now.

This is much analogous to Cristopher Nolan’s direction who leaves the mind-bending endings of his movies open to viewers’ perception, except in this case, Nolan knows the endings himself. Regarding what caused gravity, Newton himself wrote that he would leave that matter to ”the consideration of (his) readers”. In other words Newton would help you measure Gravity but what caused it, was a challenge that he left to his successors. However, despite being able to predict how much the force of gravity would act between two celestial objects or heavenly bodies, the question of how the gravitational pull would occur remained unanswered by Newton. In the world of Classical Physics, no name is greater than that of Isaac Newton’s, the great genius of the 17th century who discovered gravity and came up with a law of gravitation which would allow us to measure the force of gravity between two objects with precision. This transformation is vital to our understanding of the cosmos and the journey ahead. Maxwell, Plank and Neils Bohr made us take a quantum leap and Einstein ensured that it was at a relativistic speed. This transformation has taken place at such a brisk pace that the Classical Physics, which deals with matter and energy independently, now appears to us as a matter of past that would only fuel Modern Physics. The way we look at the universe today, is way different than how great physicists like Isaac Newton would have looked in their entire lifetimes, notwithstanding the fact that we still apply Newton’s laws of motion and gravity in describing the universe around us with precision.

Modern Physics, the era of Physics that starts with the advent of the twentieth century, has been an era of transformation in the Scientific world in general and the world of Physics in particular. The increased elegance and mystery of the universe, as we perceive them today, owe a great deal to the likes of Albert Einstein, Neils Bohr, Stephen Hawking and many more. Albert Einstein’s relativity and Max Plank’s Quantum theory, independently started to magnify our view of the universe, the former at macroscopic while the later at the microscopic levels. These two characteristics have only intensified in the past century as a result of two major theories that marked the beginning of a new era in Physics. The universe we live in, is an elegant and mysterious place. He is interested in Relativity, Quantum and String Theory. Abubakar Farooqui is a a student of International Relations at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan who describes cosmology as his childhood passion.

Light following a curved space