General relativity

General relativity (GR) or general relativity theory (GRT) is a geometrical theory of gravitation and cosmology published by Albert Einstein in 1915. In this theory:

Status

The status of general relativity is decidedly mixed. On the one hand, it is a highly successful model of gravitation and cosmology which has passed every unambiguous test that it has been subjected to so far, both observationally and experimentally. It is therefore almost universally accepted by the scientific community.

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On the other hand, general relativity is inconsistent with quantum mechanics, and the singularities of black holes also raise some disconcerting issues. So at the same time as it is accepted, there is also a sense that there may well be something beyond Einstein's theory still yet to be found.

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Currently, better tests of general relativity are needed. Even the most recent binary pulsar discoveries only test general relativity to the first order of deviation from Newtonian projections in the post-Newtonian parameterizations. Some way of testing second and higher order terms is needed, and may shed light on how reality differs from Einstein's theory (if it does).

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