User:KFluh/Solar eclipse of May 29, 1919

History of the Theory of General Relativity and How It Relates to Eclipses
The photographs taken during the eclipse of May 29, 1919 proved Einstein correct and changed ideas of physics.

Newton's laws of physics ran on the belief of absolute time and three dimensions of space. This idea meant that time only had one dimension, and that it was universal. Einstein had the idea of combining space and time to make a four dimensional world that worked together. With Einstein's idea meant that extremely small matter particles could produce massive amounts of energy. If Einstein's theory was correct matter and radiation would be connected to energy and momentum. Meaning that when light was passing a large mass there would be an observable bend to the light.

Early Attempts to Prove The Theory of General Relativity
Before 1919 there were two eclipses in 1912 where this idea was almost proven, but there were outside factors against astronomers. The first eclipse in 1912 was on April 17, but superstition, underfunding, and time overwhelmed the astronomers on this date. The April 17th eclipse was nicknamed "the titanic eclipse", due to it occurring two days after the sinking of the Titanic. There is a history of people connecting eclipses to "divine events", and due to the continued search and rescue of victims, people started to believe that the eclipse and wreck were connected. The surrounding superstition of the eclipse led to it being less a study on physics and more of a party. However a lack of funding, preparation, and time of total coverage of the sun would've also caused issues for the astronomers. The second eclipse they wanted to photograph was on October 10 1912, and it was unable to be photographed due to rain.

Problems during the Eclipse of 1919
The Eclipse of 1919 was almost missed, due to unexpected storms. The astronomers were almost unable to get photos of this eclipse due to a cloud. A thunderstorm happened during the morning of the eclipse, and it had been overcast that day and many of the days before hand. Only thirty minutes before the eclipse did the clouds begin to dissipate, and even then they were taking many photos through gaps in the clouds.