Einstein’s most famous equation wasn’t first introduced by Einstein, and Einstein didn’t derive it.
Wonder Year
In 1905 Einstein published four papers that revolutionized science. For this reason 1905 is sometimes called Einstein’s wondrous year.
Poor Einstein, Dummy Boy
I’ve been seeing a lot of Albert Einstein quotes recently. It struck me how the quotes are attributed to Einstein as if it gives them more power. Einstein was such a genius that his views on education or new-age philosophy must be genius as well. Of course that’s not how it works. Being very talented or knowledgable in one area doesn’t make one an authority in others. And as history shows, Einstein even got things wrong in his own field.
Einstein and Eddington
Newton’s laws of motion and gravity predicted the motions of the planets almost perfectly. Newton’s laws are so accurate that we use them to accurately send robotic probes to Mars and other planets, but Newton’s laws aren’t perfect. The motion of some planets differ very slightly from Newton’s predictions. In the case of Uranus, its small deviation led to the discovery of Neptune. In the case of Mercury, however, its small deviation led to a completely new understanding of gravity.
There And Back Again
When someone mentions time machines, you might think of fantastical machines such as Dr. Who’s TARDIS or the DeLorean in Back to the Future, but several physicists have made a serious study of time machines. Most of this work focuses on “what if” scenarios, which are really about testing the limits of a particular theoretical model, rather than actually engineering a device that can travel to the past.
A Muse of Fire
Part 1 in the equations series: It’s Einstein’s most famous equation. It changed the political landscape of the world, and it gave us a true understanding of the stars.
Cosmic Pi
Today is March 14, which many celebrate as Pi Day since the month and day mark 3.14, which is approximately pi.It is also Albert Einstein’s birthday, so it seems fitting to ask whether π can exist in a universe as Einstein described it. Just for fun, I’m going to outline why the answer is no.
Hubble’s Constant
Hubble’s constant shows a relationship between the distance of a galaxy and the speed at which it moves away from us. Its discovery was the first evidence that the universe is expanding.
The Attraction of Curves
When we say gravity is a curvature of space, what does that really mean? It all has to do with the fact that the laws of physics are the same from any vantage point.
- Page 1 of 2
- 1
- 2