General
relativity generalizes
special relativity and
Newton's law of universal gravitation, providing a unified description of gravity as a geometric property of
space and
time, or
spacetime. In particular, the
curvature of spacetime is directly related to the
energy and
momentum of whatever
matter and
radiation are present. The relation is specified by the
Einstein field equations, a system of
partial differential equations. ..... General relativity is a
metric theory of
gravitation. At its core are
Einstein's equations, which describe the relation between the
geometry of a four-dimensional,
pseudo-Riemannian manifold representing spacetime, and the
energy–momentum contained in that spacetime. Phenomena that in
classical mechanics are ascribed to the action of the force of gravity (such as
free-fall,
orbital motion, and
spacecraft trajectories), correspond to inertial motion within a
curved geometry
of spacetime in general relativity; there is no gravitational force
deflecting objects from their natural, straight paths. Instead, gravity
corresponds to changes in the properties of space and time, which in
turn changes the straightest-possible paths that objects will naturally
follow. The curvature is, in turn, caused by the energy–momentum of matter. Paraphrasing the relativist
John Archibald Wheeler, spacetime tells matter how to move; matter tells spacetime how to curve.
(Wikipedia - 20 Mar 2012)The
Current Paradigm and the
Malta Template disagree. The former assumes
that space has properties and can curve. That latter assumes that space
is "nothingness" and thus cannot curve.
The Malta Template
evolves out of the known facts and the bare minimum of assumptions. In
doing so, the ability of space to curve doesn't arise. Since the
Template subsequently evolves satisfactorily in the Universe we see
about us today, it is reasonable to suppose that space has no need to
curve.
That said, while space doesn't curve in the Malta
Template, it can give the appearance of curvature if the Universe is
looked at on a scale larger than gravitons. Space is filled with prodigious
numbers of gravitons which are ordered by gravity into streams which can be
dense and fast moving. These streams curve around massive objects thus
producing all the effects predicted in General Relativity.