What is general relativity?

General relativity is Albert Einstein’s theory of space, time, and matter and comprises our current best understanding of gravity.

According to general relativity, gravity is not a force but a geometric phenomenon: matter tells spacetime how to curve, and curved spacetime tells matter how to move.

Einstein’s field equations capture this dynamic interplay between matter and spacetime geometry.

Want to learn more?

The learning resources

Take a look at our digital learning environment General Relativity on Norwegian learning platform Viten. General Relativity gives an accessible introduction to Einstein's theory of gravity suitable for secondary school students.

The research

Together with my colleagues from project ReleQuant, I have proposed an educational reconstruction of general relativity. Read more about this reconstruction and the design of our resources in our research paper via with Physical Review Physics Education Research.

The basics

Listen to my public talk on the foundations of general relativity which I gave as part of the online series "Faszination Astronomie Online" hosted by Haus der Astronomie, Center for Astronomy Education and Outreach. The talk is in German.