Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this new blog going, so stay tuned for more. Subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates.
Gravity’s Effect on Light
Light appears almost instantaneous to the naked eye. This seems especially evident on the Fourth of July, watching a firework explode, only for the boom to hit you seconds after the colorful light hits your eyes. It does not seem like something so fast and instant could be affected by a force such as gravity. However, gravity actually has the ability to effect rays of light; not in the way you would expect. Light doesn’t have weight like matter does.
![An illustration of gravitational lensing showcases how background galaxies — or any light path — is... [+] distorted by the presence of an intervening mass, but it also shows how space itself is bent and distorted by the presence of the foreground mass itself. Before Einstein put forth his theory of General Relativity, he understood that this bending must occur, even though many remained skeptical until (and even after) the solar eclipse of 1919 confirmed his predictions.](https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Fstartswithabang%2Ffiles%2F2017%2F05%2FGravitational-lensing-galaxyApril12_2010-1024x768.jpg)
According to the Theory of General Relativity, mass warps the space around it, creating the effect of gravity. This warp in space is what has the ability to bend light. Beams of light passing through this warp is moving in a straight path, yet is bending through this warp. Therefore, the light does not appear to be moving straight to an outside observer. It does not actually have an effect on the speed of light, just the path it follows.
The idea that the force of gravity effects more than just the mass that we see on a daily basis is pretty wild – its effect can bend the light which generates the image we see when we look up into the sky.
The History of Creating the Modern Universe
Looking back to the beginning of the universe compared to the vast, unfathomable expanse that is has become, is it truly baffling to understand how an event like the big bang can create such a large and lasting effect. At the very beginning, the universe underwent an unbelievable rate of expansion, growing from microscopic levels to the size of the a golf within the matter of microseconds. This brings the idea of the expansion of the universe down to a smaller, more tangible level.
Following the initial inflation of the universe, extreme temperatures made it impossible for light to shine, and the dark ages began. The universe existed in complete darkness for nearly 400,000 years. The evolution of the universe has undergone extreme transitions since its creation. A once lifeless, dark entity eventually became the system full of complex molecules that we know today.
First Post Woo!
Introduce Yourself (Example Post)
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
- Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
- Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
- Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
- What topics do you think you’ll write about?
- Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
- If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
Eric Looks at Space 