General Relativity
An apsidal precession of the planet Mercury was noted by Urbain Le Verrier in the mid-19th century and accounted for by Einstein's theory of general relativity. To first approximation, this theory adds a central force that varies as the inverse fourth power of the distance.
Read more about this topic: Apsidal Precession
Famous quotes containing the words general and/or relativity:
“Any general statement is like a cheque drawn on a bank. Its value depends on what is there to meet it.”
—Ezra Pound (1885–1972)
“By an application of the theory of relativity to the taste of readers, to-day in Germany I am called a German man of science, and in England I am represented as a Swiss Jew. If I come to be regarded as a bête noire the descriptions will be reversed, and I shall become a Swiss Jew for the Germans and a German man of science for the English!”
—Albert Einstein (1879–1955)