Century of Geniuses: The Battle Over General Relativity

General relativity is the most important scientific theory of the 20th century. It has revolutionized our understanding of space, time, gravity, and the universe. But the road to general relativity was not easy. It was a century-long battle, fought by some of the greatest minds in history.

The Perfect Theory: A Century of Geniuses and the Battle over General Relativity

by Pedro G. Ferreira

4.6 out of 5

Language	:	English
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The story of general relativity begins with Albert Einstein. In 1905, Einstein published his theory of special relativity, which showed that space and time are not absolute, but are relative to the observer. This theory was a major breakthrough, but it was incomplete. It did not explain gravity.

In 1915, Einstein published his theory of general relativity, which extended special relativity to include gravity. General relativity showed that gravity is not a force, but is instead a curvature of spacetime. This theory was even more revolutionary than special relativity, and it has had a profound impact on our understanding of the universe.

The battle over general relativity did not end with Einstein's publication of the theory in 1915. In fact, the battle has continued for over a century, as scientists have worked to test and refine the theory. Some of the most important figures in this battle include:

• Arthur Eddington: Eddington was a British astronomer who was one of the first to test Einstein's theory of general relativity. In 1919, Eddington led an expedition to observe a solar eclipse, and he was able to confirm Einstein's prediction that the path of light from stars would be bent by the gravity of the sun.
• Edwin Hubble: Hubble was an American astronomer who discovered that the universe is expanding. Hubble's discovery led to the development of the Big Bang theory, which is the prevailing cosmological model of the universe's origin and evolution.
• Georges Lemaître: Lemaître was a Belgian priest and physicist who independently discovered the expanding universe. Lemaître also proposed the Big Bang theory, and he was the first to suggest that the universe began with a singularity.
• Karl Schwarzschild: Schwarzschild was a German mathematician and physicist who found the first exact solution to Einstein's field equations of general relativity. Schwarzschild's solution describes the gravitational field of a black hole.
• Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar: Chandrasekhar was an Indian-American astrophysicist who worked on the theory of black holes. Chandrasekhar showed that a star that is more massive than a certain limit will collapse into a black hole.
• Roger Penrose: Penrose is a British mathematician and physicist who has worked on the theory of black holes and cosmology. Penrose showed that the universe has a singularity at the beginning of the Big Bang, and he has also proposed a new theory of gravity called twistor theory.
• Stephen Hawking: Hawking is a British physicist who has worked on the theory of black holes and cosmology. Hawking showed that black holes emit radiation, which is now known as Hawking radiation. Hawking has also written several popular books about science, including A Brief History of Time.

The battle over general relativity is still ongoing today. Scientists are still working to test and refine the theory, and they are also using the theory to make new predictions about the universe. General relativity is one of the most important and successful scientific theories of all time, and it is likely to continue to be a source of inspiration and discovery for centuries to come.

Further Reading

• Century of Geniuses: The Battle Over General Relativity by Kip Thorne
• Black Holes by Kip Thorne
• Stephen Hawking
• Roger Penrose

The Perfect Theory: A Century of Geniuses and the Battle over General Relativity

by Pedro G. Ferreira

4.6 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	1939 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	320 pages
Lending	:	Enabled

FREE