On Sunday, the planetarium showcased its first event to kick-start the semester by focusing on Einstein’s Relativity. The show aimed at helping others understand the importance of relativity and how it is applied throughout everyday life.
The show dissected Albert Einstein’s theories of General Relativity and Special Relativity while helping the audience understand its contents in a simplified way.
Keeping in mind that this event is not strictly held for students majoring in STEM classes, the videos used real world examples and terms that could be understood by everyone, not just by students from those departments.
The theories of General Relativity and Special Relativity challenge the understanding of how the universe began and how it continues to evolve by considering empty space as more than just empty space.
This opening show was hosted by Richard Frieman, a laboratory and field technician at Oswego State. Being that he has a Masters in geology, Frieman hopes that he can offer a broader perspective to students who may have interest in astronomy, physics and other fields pertaining to those subjects.
One example used in the show to illustrate gravity and acceleration within Einstein’s relativity was as a person sitting in a stationary car with another car on the same road, and with all the visual cues removed can either perceive the car coming toward them, their car moving toward the other car or both cars moving toward one another, would not be incorrect in neither assumption to understanding gravity and acceleration.
“When I create shows I like to challenge not only myself, but also pick topics that a lot of people who don’t necessarily study astronomy or physics may have heard about but don’t really understand,” Frieman said.
He hopes to be able to create shows that are appealing to students across the board and spark inspiration for students in places that they may have not originally hoped to find.
When proposed with the idea of presenting and preparing a show about quantum mechanics, Frieman was more than happy to consider the topic as he enjoys catering to the interests of the students. Frieman along with two other colleagues of his, usually host the show.
Even just as a pastime activity, the show aims to present education in an interesting way. Jessica Pullen, a student at Oswego State said that “there is not that much to do in the winter,” and decided to take this chance as a learning opportunity.
Similarly, Nathan Currier, who was there simply observing the show said he “loved learning about space,” and decided to come and watch the first viewing.
With his interest in science, Currier also hopes that the information he is learning will aid him in the field he decides to go into someday.
“You can never know everything, you can always keep learning,” Pullen said.
For one of his future shows, Frieman plans to shed light on the women in science who did not get the recognition they deserved and will continue to incorporate the students ideas when creating his shows, making the process an interactive experience.
Two more planetarium showings are scheduled to take place on Sunday, Feb. 16 and 23 at 7 p.m.
Photo from The Oswegonian Archive
