Physicists attempt to unify all forces of nature and rectify Einstein's biggest failure

[Judi Lynn]

By Paul Sutter - Astrophysicist 5 hours ago

And reveal extra dimensions.



(Image: © PASIEKA via Getty Images)
In his waning years, Albert Einstein spent his time tilting at windmills, trying to unify all the forces of nature. He died disappointed, and his attempt would go down in history as his biggest failure.

But Einstein's failed dream could ultimately become his ultimate triumph, as a small group of theoretical physicists rework his old ideas. It won't necessarily bring all the forces of the universe together, but it could explain some of the most pressing issues facing modern science.

Einstein isn't enough
The most successful theory of gravity known to humanity is Einstein's famous theory of general relativity. Einstein spent more than seven years developing it, and it was worth the wait. On the surface, general relativity is deceptively simple. All of the drama of the universe takes place on the grand, four-dimensional stage called space-time. Matter and energy —the actors and actresses of the cosmos — run around doing their thing, saying their lines. Matter and energy deform space-time, causing it to warp and curve. That warping in turn tells the matter and energy how to move and behave.

And voila: general relativity! The constant dialogue between space-time stage and matter and energy is what we see as the force of gravity.

Einstein's theory has passed every observational test thrown at it, which is why it's survived for the century since its birth. It has predicted and explained strange phenomena across the universe, including the bending of light around massive objects and the formation of black holes.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/einstein-biggest-failure-teleparallel-gravity.html?utm_source=notification

[stopdiggin]

1. bookmarked for a read

Although -- often as not this stuff leaves me tumbling in it's wake. But I appreciate the OP for giving me the opportunity.

[abqtommy]

2. Albert Einstein was a remarkable man. I've read more reports about how his various theories

have been proven true so I won't get too excited about his "biggest failure".

[hunter]

3. Personally, I think we already have too many dimensions.

I figure we can do it all with three.

[Duppers]

4. Just hold on.

There'll be a new paper addressing this coming out in a few months. Einstein *was* right - he was brilliant. The twister idea would be useful to explain the spin of particles, but not this.


Judi