Einstein Proved Right on Gravity—Again

Wall Street Journal ^ | 04/25/2013 | Gautam Naik

[SeekAndFind]

Scientists have subjected Albert Einstein's famous theory of gravity to its toughest real-world test so far—and it has prevailed.

Einstein's general theory of relativity states that objects with mass cause a curvature in space-time, which we perceive as gravity. Space-time, according to Einstein's theories of relativity, is a four-dimensional fabric woven together by space and time.

For example, a bowling ball causes a dent in a mattress, and that dent changes the otherwise straight motion of a nearby marble on the same mattress. Similarly, the mass of the sun distorts the space-time around it. A body with less mass, like the earth, travels along one path in that distorted space, which we call its orbit.

Scientists aren't testing the general theory because they think it is wrong but rather because they are certain it can't be the final explanation—just as Isaac Newton's notion of gravitational force was superseded by Einstein's explanation.

Einstein's theory of gravity, published nearly a century ago, has passed every test it has been subjected to. Nonetheless, scientists have been trying to pin down precisely at what point Einstein's theory of gravity breaks down, and where an alternative explanation will have to be devised. Einstein's framework for his theory of gravity, for example, is incompatible with quantum theory, which explains how nature works at an atomic and subatomic level.

Consider that for a black hole, Einstein's theory "predicts infinitely strong gravitational fields and density. That's nonsensical," said Paulo Freire, an astrophysicist at the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy in Germany and co-author of the study, which appears in the journal Science.

[varmintman]

Tom may have been wrong on time frames and the odd point but he was not wrong about artificial things being found on Mars. Mother nature does not do straight lines or Bezier curves on a three mile scale:

I mean I can understand people claiming those original low-res images from the 76 Viking probe didn't prove anything but the arguments should have ended with the high-res images which started coming in around 99. Denial isn't just a river in Egypt.

[Gene Eric]

Was a ludic remark with emphasis on “ant/anti”.

[cuban leaf]

I try to have fun with this stuff. It’s what keeps me sane when arguing the “goofy sciences” (evolution and AGW) on predominantly liberal sites.

[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic is from 04/25/2013 . Thanks SeekAndFind.

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