"Is Einstein's Greatest Work All Wrong..."

[N2NH]

Is Einstein's Greatest Work All Wrong—Because He Didn't Go Far Enough?

There have been those who exposed errors in the formulas derived from Einstein's theories in the past, but is there even more that is wrong? Is the General Theory of Relativity, well, wrong?

It was less than a century ago that Einstein was the most radical physics thinker around. With his general theory of relativity, he discarded the traditional notion of space and time as fixed and redefined them as flexible dimensions woven together to create a four-dimensional fabric that pervades the universe. In Einstein’s vision, this stretchy version of space-time is the source of gravity. The fabric bends and warps severely around massive objects such as the sun, drawing smaller objects such as planets toward them. The force that we perceive as gravity is the result.


Yet Einstein’s fabric left a few loose threads that cosmologists have struggled to tie up ever since. For one, general relativity alone cannot explain the observed motions of galaxies or the way the universe seems to expand. If Einstein’s model of gravity is correct, around 96 percent of the cosmos appears to be missing. To make up the difference, cosmologists have posited two mysterious, invisible, and as yet unidentified ingredients: dark matter and dark energy, a double budget deficit that makes many scientists uncomfortable. Einstein also failed to deliver an all-encompassing theory of “quantum gravity”—one that reconciled the laws of gravity observed on the scale of stars and galaxies with the laws of quantum mechanics, the branch of physics that explains the behavior of particles in the subatomic realm.


While other scientists tread softly around the edges of Einstein’s theory, hoping to tweak it into compliance, Barbour and a growing cadre of collaborators see a need for a bold march forward. They aim to demolish the space-time fabric that stands as Einstein’s legacy and remap the universe without it. This new cosmic code could eliminate the need to invoke dark matter and dark energy. Even more exciting, it could also open the door to the theory of quantum gravity that Einstein was never able to derive. If Barbour is right, some of the most fundamental things cosmologists think they know about the origin and evolution of the universe would have to be revised.

In math as well as science, a half finished problem is not a solved problem and that makes it wrong.


Is Einstein's Greatest Work All Wrong—Because He Didn't Go Far Enough?

[KC2UGV]

Fascinating. It would be interesting to be able to toss out time as a fundamental definition of space-time. It would impact Alcubierre's drive solution as well, eliminating the time paradox it would present.

[K7SGJ]

Boy, Dr. Who is going to really be pissed when he hears about this.

[n2ize]

Is Einstein's Greatest Work All Wrong—Because He Didn't Go Far Enough?

There have been those who exposed errors in the formulas derived from Einstein's theories in the past, but is there even more that is wrong? Is the General Theory of Relativity, well, wrong?



In math as well as science, a half finished problem is not a solved problem and that makes it wrong.


Is Einstein's Greatest Work All Wrong—Because He Didn't Go Far Enough?

Interesting , however I don't think we can say his work was "all wrong". Indeed, General Relativity is directly used in GPS systems.

http://www.astronomy.ohio-state.edu/...Unit5/gps.html

Case and point. Classical mechanics is not "all wrong" despite the fact that there were phenomenon that could not be entirely explained in classical mechanics, hence the birth of quantum mechanics which at times appears to conflict with Einsteins General relativity yet we use relativity to make certain technologies work.

http://users.ece.gatech.edu/~alan/EC...imitations.pdf

Likewise, we don't regard mathematics as all-wrong because there are many problems, seemingly simple on the surface,, such as Goldbach's Conjecture which remain unsolved to this date.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldbach's_conjecture

[N2CHX]

Boy, Dr. Who is going to really be pissed when he hears about this.

Don't worry, he's not paying attention right now, he's busy with Mrs. Whatsit.

[NQ6U]

In math as well as science, a half finished problem is not a solved problem and that makes it wrong.

And yet, Einstein's theories have stood up to every test to date.

I think that headline is nothing but sensationalism intended to draw in readers. The truth is a bit more mundane. It's been accepted for years that a unifying theory was needed in physics in order to tie up some loose ends but that does not make Einstein "all wrong."

[WØTKX]

Newton wasn't wrong in his frame of reference and neither is Einstein. They both had their limits at the errr... Time. We are starting to poke around past that, and it's getting interesting. So far, it seems Maxwell and Gauss have held up better than most, but as we move forward... Change Happens.

I'm amused with the premise of operating CW on an entanglement transceiver. ;)

[N2NH]

Interesting , however I don't think we can say his work was "all wrong". ...
Likewise, we don't regard mathematics as all-wrong because there are many problems, seemingly simple on the surface,, such as Goldbach's Conjecture which remain unsolved to this date.

Somebody should've told that to the Math professor I had a college. She did not give partial credit. It was either all right or all wrong. Einstein would've failed for not finishing his formulae.

[w0aew]

I've never understood all the furor over time. Isn't that just an artificial construct to measure subsequent events? How can a measurement arbitrarily derived from the motion of the earth around the sun be important enough to aid in understanding physical laws?

[WØTKX]

Ask the Tralfamadorians. And so it goes. Ting-a-ling!