Einstein used approximation methods in working out initial predictions of the theory. Einstein later declared the cosmological constant the biggest blunder of his life.
The brief layman's answer: Einstein was troubled because his own theories of relativity did not support the idea of a constant universe, the universe that he preferred to believe existed. His equations showed that a steady state universe would eventually give in to the forces of gravity. He developed the cosmological constant, basically a 'fudge factor', so that his theories could support a steady-state universe. Shortly after, Hubble's redshift observations provided evidence that the universe is expanding, and Einstein called the cosmological constant the worst blunder of his life. Ironically, interest in the cosmological constant is returning, as a possible way of explaining the acceleratingexpansion of the universe.
Einstein became famous through his work on the photoelectric effect, his development of the Special and General Theories of Relativity, and the resulting determination that the mass and energy of an object are proportionally related and that the constant or proportionality is the square of the speed of light (E=mc**2).
One notable instance of a scientist being wrong is the case of Albert Einstein's cosmological constant. Initially introduced to support a static universe, Einstein later referred to it as his "greatest blunder" after the discovery of the expanding universe. This example illustrates how scientific understanding evolves and how theories can be revised or discarded in light of new evidence. It underscores the importance of skepticism and adaptability in scientific inquiry.
Straight Answer:The force of gravity is attractive. It is only attractive.It has been a matter of deep wonderment by some of the worlds' greatest scientists as to why one only sees gravity as an attractive force.Complex Answer:The above answer really responds to Newton's form of gravity. The answer is 100% correct, even if one interprets gravity in the sense of General Relativity.However, if one is willing to entertain various complex and possibly unlikely scenarios, one can come up with different versions of gravity. Not all of these can be correct and maybe none are.1. Half a century ago, antimatter was discovered. For example, a positron is an "anti-electron," identical to a positive electron and would attract a negative electron. Some people wondered if antimatter would also have the opposite of the normal gravitational force and repel normal mater.2. After the first Voyager satellites were launched and went outside of the solar system, it was noticed that they were not leaving as fast as expected. After years of research trying to understand why they were going slower than expected, it was conjectured that Newtons law of gravity, might not be exactly correct for long distances, i.e. for distances of billions of kilometers. They just could not come up with any other explanation.3. When Einstein first published his theory of General Relativity, the field equations had a term in them which was called the Cosmological Constant. In the first decades of the 20th century it was thought we lived in a static universe and something had to be present in the law of gravity to keep all the stars from falling in to one giant clump. That thing was the Cosmological Constant. Later, once it was established that we live in an expanding universe, Einstein characterized the first version of the theory, with the Cosmological Constant, as "the biggest mistake of my life."4. A century after Einstein's biggest mistake, it has been discovered that the universe is accelerating, no just moving apart. Current theories now put the Cosmological Constant back into General Relativity to explain the acceleration.5. Dark energy is the biggest unsolved mystery in science and has a tremendous implication on what is the correct law of gravity, the future of the universe and all manner of other fundamental questions.Still, in all of the above, except antimatter, gravity was still attractive.
All colors of light travel at the same speed in space, which is the speed of light in a vacuum, approximately 299,792 kilometers per second. This constant speed of light is a fundamental principle in physics, as described by Einstein's theory of relativity.
Einstein developed the cosmological constant to counteract the force of gravity and maintain a static universe in his theory of general relativity. His motivation was to explain why the universe appeared to be static and not collapsing under the influence of gravity.
The brief layman's answer: Einstein was troubled because his own theories of relativity did not support the idea of a constant universe, the universe that he preferred to believe existed. His equations showed that a steady state universe would eventually give in to the forces of gravity. He developed the cosmological constant, basically a 'fudge factor', so that his theories could support a steady-state universe. Shortly after, Hubble's redshift observations provided evidence that the universe is expanding, and Einstein called the cosmological constant the worst blunder of his life. Ironically, interest in the cosmological constant is returning, as a possible way of explaining the acceleratingexpansion of the universe.
Its not that he couldn't, he eventually did and declared his "cosmological constant" the biggest mistake in his life.The situation was when Einstein developed General Relativity the prevailing cosmological theory was the Steady State Theory, that the universe was static. However General Relativity predicted that the universe could NOT be static: it must be either expanding or contracting. To correct for this apparent "error" and conform to the prevailing theory, Einstein added an arbitrary fudge factor that he called the "cosmological constant" that could be tweaked as needed to keep the General Relativity predictions in accordance with the Steady State Theory.When it was clearly shown that Hubble's data was right and the universe was expanding, he willingly deleted the "cosmological constant" from Relativity.
The "cosmological constant".
The cosmological constant, denoted by the Greek letter Lambda (Λ), is a term introduced by Albert Einstein in his equations of general relativity to account for a static universe. It represents a form of energy density that fills space homogeneously and has a repulsive effect, counteracting the gravitational pull of matter. In modern cosmology, it is associated with dark energy, which is thought to drive the accelerated expansion of the universe. The value of the cosmological constant is crucial in understanding the universe's fate and its large-scale structure.
There are hundreds of things named after Albert Einstein. Among them are Boseâ??Einstein statistics, Einstein's constant, Einstein's radius of the universe,Einstein coefficients, and Einstein cosmological constant to get the list started.
It was proposed by Albert Einstein to achieve a stationery universe, although it was admitted by him to be his "biggest blunder" in his life. for more details, refer to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmological_constant
Gravity by Newton and space/time by Einstein. Newton's clock on earth has the same force as Einstein's clock, but when Einstein's clock moves to the top of Everest mountain, it will have less force. By Amin Elsersawi Both Newton and Einstein admitted that there is gravity. The gravity of Newton was on Earth, and the gravity of Einstein was the cosmological constant. Einstein made a big mistake when he added the cosmological constant to compensate for his thought that the universe was static (stand still). The cosmological constant was an anti-gravity 'vacuum' force that kept gravity from pulling the universe in on itself. In conclusion, Newton was right, and Einstein was wrong in distinguishing the gravity.
it is a constant that is determined by Maxwell's equations for the speed of all electromagnetic radiation traveling in a vacuum.it is the same for all observers in all reference frames in special relativity. in agreement with Maxwell.nothing can travel faster than that speed. it is the speed limit.
The fudge factor in Albert Einstein's equation in 1917 may be due to Neutrinos which has greater speed than that of light. The difference between the speed of light and the Neutrinos may be the measure of the expansion of the universe which may ultimately cool down into ice one day.
Hubble's discovery of the expanding universe in the 1920s provided evidence against the static universe model favored at the time, which relied on a cosmological constant to maintain stability. By observing that galaxies were moving away from each other and the universe was expanding, Hubble's findings contradicted the need for a cosmological constant to explain a static cosmos.
Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity while working as a patent clerk in Bern, Switzerland in 1905. He published his theory in a paper titled "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies." This groundbreaking work revolutionized our understanding of space, time, and gravity.