According to the excerpt, what helped Einstein to draw the conclusion that space was like a stretchy blanket
rather than rigid nothingness, as Newton believed?
Read the excerpt from A Black Hole Is Not a Hole by
Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano, and answer the question.
In this way of thinking, the "background" acted more like
a flexible mat, or a stretchy knit blanket. This new,
blanket-like idea of space meant space could stretch,
crunch up, bend, and warp. Moving objects would follow
the curves of the blanket, moving along the surface
through flat sections as well as distorted ones. This new
idea about space changed the way scientists think about
gravity.
Speaking of Gravity: Newtonese and Einsteinese
Most of the time gravity seems to work the way Newton
described it. Newton's rules explain a lot, from falling
apples to most planets' orbits. But his laws don't work
perfectly. In high-gravity zones, Newton's ideas don't jibe
with what scientists observe. For example, Mercury's
orbit-up close to the Sun-has a blip in it that Newton's
O This new idea about space changed the way
scientists think about gravity.
O Most of the time gravity seems to work the way
Newton described it.
O Newton's rules explain a lot, from falling apples to
most planets' orbits.
O Mercury's orbit-up close to the Sun-has a blip in it
that Newton's laws can't explain.