Did you know that Einstein's most important equation isn't E=mc^2? Find out all about his equation that expresses how spacetime curves, with Sean Carroll.

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This lecture was recorded at the Ri on Monday 14 August 2023.

00:00 Einstein’s most important equation
3:37 Why Newton’s equations are so important
9:30 The two kinds of relativity
12:53 Why is it the geometry of spacetime that matters?
16:37 The principle of equivalence
18:39 Types of non-Euclidean geometry
26:26 The Metric Tensor and equations
32:22 Interstellar and time and space twisting
33:32 The Riemann tensor
37:45 A physical theory of gravity
43:28 How to solve Einstein’s equation
47:50 Using the equation to make predictions
51:05 How its been used to find black holes

The real Einstein's Equation is part of general relativity, which relates the curvature of spacetime to the mass and energy distributed within it.

Sean explains why the geometry of spacetime has anything to do with gravity, and how this famous equation expresses the way that spacetime curves.

Sean Carroll is Homewood Professor of natural philosophy at Johns Hopkins University. He won the Royal Society Winton Prize for his book about the search for the elusive Higgs boson, The Particle at the End of the Universe, and The Big Picture was an international bestseller. His most recent book is Something Deeply Hidden. He lives in Baltimore.

Copies of Sean's latest book, 'The Biggest Ideas in the Universe 1: Space, Time and Motion', are available from Amazon and all good bookstores.

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