Changes

The fighting in the “Great War,” as it was called then (it is now called World War I), was savage and brutal.  Army casualties totaled more than 37 million people, and there were another 10 million in civilian deaths.  For weeks armies fought in trenches (deep, long ditches in the ground), spending day after day trying to kill their opponents lined up in an opposite trench several hundred feet away.  This was known as trench warfare.  Movement of ten or twenty feet in advance of a trench was a big success.  Barbed wire marked off an area known as “no man’s land” between the two trenches, where anyone who went into this area would be shot on sight.  Also, a deadly flu virus spread among the soldiers and infected the world, killing millions more.  The late 1910s was a dreadful time for the world.

The fighting in the “Great War,” as it was called then (it is now called World War I), was savage and brutal.  Army casualties totaled more than 37 million people, and there were another 10 million in civilian deaths.  For weeks armies fought in trenches (deep, long ditches in the ground), spending day after day trying to kill their opponents lined up in an opposite trench several hundred feet away.  This was known as trench warfare.  Movement of ten or twenty feet in advance of a trench was a big success.  Barbed wire marked off an area known as “no man’s land” between the two trenches, where anyone who went into this area would be shot on sight.  Also, a deadly flu virus spread among the soldiers and infected the world, killing millions more.  The late 1910s was a dreadful time for the world.

At the end of the war, the nations signed a peace agreement that was so misguided that it caused another great war to occur (World War II).  So this World War I was bad news all around.  Nothing was achieved by it. World War I was even [[pathetic]] in terms of military strategy.  The first year and a half (1914-15) is known as “Entrenchment,” during which there were terrible casualties without either side gaining the upper hand.  The next year, 1916, is known as “Continued Stalemate.”  Get the idea?  The following year, 1917, is known for the entrance by the United States and the withdrawal by Russia due to its communist revolution.  In 1918 more nations withdrew from the war, and the major remaining nations of Britain, France, Germany and the United States ended the war with an armistice in November of that year.

At the end of the war, the nations signed a peace agreement that was so misguided that it caused another great war to occur (World War II).  So this World War I was bad news all around.  Nothing was achieved by it. World War I was even pathetic in terms of military strategy.  The first year and a half (1914-15) is known as “Entrenchment,” during which there were terrible casualties without either side gaining the upper hand.  The next year, 1916, is known as “Continued Stalemate.”  Get the idea?  The following year, 1917, is known for the entrance by the United States and the withdrawal by Russia due to its communist revolution.  In 1918 more nations withdrew from the war, and the major remaining nations of Britain, France, Germany and the United States ended the war with an armistice in November of that year.

=== The Colonies and the Great War ===

=== The Colonies and the Great War ===

'''The Theory of Relativity'''

'''The Theory of Relativity'''

Though quantum mechanics was the most productive scientific achievement of the 20th century, most people are more likely to have heard about the “theory of relativity,” which was also developed during that century.  Unlike most advances in physics, the theory of relativity was proposed based on mathematical theory rather than observation.  The theory rests on two postulates (assumptions) that are difficult to test, and then derives mathematically what the physical consequences should be.  Those two postulates are that the speed of light can never be increased, and that all laws of physics are the same in every (inertial) frame of reference no matter where it is or how fast it is traveling.  This theory rejects Newton’s view of gravitation and replaces it with a concept that there is a continuum of space and time, and that large masses (like the sun) bend space in a manner similar to how a finger can depress an area of a balloon.  From this proposed bending of space the expression arose that “space is curved.”<ref>Later experiments demonstrated that space is not curved overall, and that it is actually flat.</ref>

Though quantum mechanics was the most productive scientific achievement of the 20th century, most people are more likely to have heard about the “theory of relativity,” which was also developed during that century.  Unlike most advances in physics, the theory of relativity was proposed based on mathematical theory rather than observation.  The theory rests on two postulates (assumptions) that are difficult to test, and then derives mathematically what the physical consequences should be.  Those two postulates are that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, and that all laws of physics are the same in every (inertial) frame of reference no matter where it is or how fast it is traveling.  This theory rejects Newton’s view of gravitation and replaces it with a concept that there is a continuum of space and time, and that large masses (like the sun) bend space in a manner similar to how a finger can depress an area of a balloon.  From this proposed bending of space the expression arose that “space is curved.”<ref>Later experiments demonstrated that space is not curved overall, and that it is actually flat.</ref>

[[Image:Cassini-science-289.jpg|right|thumb|a drawing of how a signal would dip into a gravity well around the [[sun]] according to the theory of relativity]]

[[Image:Cassini-science-289.jpg|right|thumb|a drawing of how a signal would dip into a gravity well around the [[sun]] according to the theory of relativity]]

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) and others promoted the theory of relativity.  Contrary to public perception, the theory of relativity had nothing to do with the development of the atom bomb or any other technology.  Only one Nobel Prize (in 1993) has ever been given that relates to relativity, and the validity of that particular award is questionable.  Many things predicted by the theory of relativity, such as gravitons, have never been found despite expensive government projects (like “LIGO”<ref>http://www.ligo.caltech.edu/</ref>) that search for them.  Many observed phenomena attributed to the theory of relativity, such as the bending of light passing near the sun or the advance of the perihelion in the orbit of Mercury, can be also predicted by Newton’s theory.  The theory of relativity conflicts with quantum mechanics, and Einstein himself never accepted quantum mechanics.

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) and others promoted the theory of relativity.  Contrary to public perception, the theory of relativity had nothing to do with the development of the atom bomb or any other technology.  Only one Nobel Prize (in 1993) has ever been given that relates to relativity, and the validity of that particular award is questionable.  Many things predicted by the theory of relativity, such as gravitons, have never been found despite expensive government projects (like “LIGO”<ref>http://www.ligo.caltech.edu/</ref>) that search for them.  Many observed phenomena attributed to the theory of relativity, such as the bending of light passing near the sun or the advance of the perihelion in the orbit of Mercury, can be also predicted by Newton’s theory.  The theory of relativity conflicts with quantum mechanics, and Einstein himself never accepted quantum mechanics.