Quotes About Einstein

Because both quantum theory and Einstein's theory of gravity are united in ten-dimensional space, we expect that the question of time travel will be settled decisively by the hyperspace theory. As in the case of wormholes and dimensional windows, the final chapter will be written when we incorporate the full power of the hyperspace theory.

Rotating in four-dimensional space unifies the concept of space and time, turning one into the other as the velocity is increased. This beautiful, elegant concept, that symmetry unifies seemingly dissimilar entities into a pleasing, harmonious whole, guided Einstein for the next fifty years.

Einstein wrote, "Quantum mechanics calls for a great deal of respect. But some inner voice tells me that this is not the true Jacob. The theory offers a lot, but it hardly brings us any closer to the Old Man's secret. For my part, at least, I am convinced that He doesn't throw dice.")

This was the missing piece in the puzzle. The secret of wood that bound matter together was the Yang-Mills filed, not the geometry of Einstein. It appeared as though this, and not geometry, was the central lesson of physics.

If we now take a Kaluza-Klein theory defined in 4+N dimensions and then curl up N dimensions, we will find that the equations split into two pieces. The first piece is Einstein's usual equations, which we retrieve as expected. But the second piece will not be the theory of Maxwell. We find that the remainder is precisely the Yang-Mills theory, which forms the basis of all subatomic physics! This is the key to turning the symmetries of wood into the symmetries of marble.

When Einstein later complained that "God does not play dice with the world," Bohr reportedly fired back, "Stop telling God what to do.

Einstein's Cosmos

Finalmente, Einstein creó dos grandes teorías. La primera fue la relatividad especial, que describía las propiedades de los rayos de luz en el espacio-tiempo e introducía una simetría basada en rotaciones en cuatro dimensiones. La segunda fue la relatividad general, en la que la gravedad se revela como la curvatura del espacio-tiempo.

Cuando alguien visitaba a Einstein en su casa, este les preguntaba: «¿Existe la luna porque un ratón la mira?». Pero, por mucho que la teoría cuántica violase el sentido común, algo había de verdad en ella: era experimentalmente correcta. Sus predicciones han sido corroboradas con hasta once decimales, lo que la convierte en la teoría más precisa de todos los tiempos.

Cuando le enseñaron a la esposa de Einstein el colosal observatorio y le dijeron que el telescopio estaba determinando la forma definitiva del universo, ésta respondió sin inmutarse: «Mi marido lo hace en el reverso de un sobre usado».

el vacío tiene energía, como sospechaba Tesla. Pero la cantidad de energía es probablemente demasiado pequeña para ser utilizada como una fuente de energía útil.

La atracción gravitatoria es una ilusión. Por ejemplo, quizá ahora esté sentado en una silla, leyendo este libro. Por lo general, diría que la gravedad tira de usted hacia el asiento, y por eso no sale volando hacia el espacio. Pero Einstein diría que está sentado en la silla porque la Tierra deforma la masa de espacio sobre su cabeza, y esa deformación le empuja hacia el suelo.

Imaginemos también unas hormigas que se mueven sobre una hoja de papel arrugada. No pueden moverse en línea recta. Puede que sientan una fuerza que tira de ellas continuamente, pero nosotros, que miramos las hormigas desde arriba, vemos que no hay ninguna fuerza en absoluto. Esta es la idea que surge de lo que Einstein llamó «relatividad general»: el espacio-tiempo se deforma por masas pesadas, lo que provoca la ilusión de la fuerza gravitatoria.

Stephen Hawking has proven a general theorem stating that all solutions of Einstein's equations that allow faster-than-light travel must involve negative matter or energy.

The universe is a symphony of strings. And the Mind of God, which Einstein wrote eloquently about, is cosmic music resonating throughout hyperspace.

So this is one goal of modern physics: to create a quantum theory of gravity where the quantum corrections are finite and calculable. In other words, Einstein's theory of gravity allows for the formation of wormholes, which may one day give us shortcuts through the galaxy. But Einstein's theory cannot tell us if these wormholes are stable or not. To calculate these quantum corrections, we need a theory that combines relativity with the quantum theory.

But Einstein refused to be mathematics' pawn. He bucked the equations in favor of his intuition about how the cosmos should be, his deep-seated belief that the universe was eternal and, on the largest of scales, fixed and unchanging. The universe, Einstein admonished Lemaître, is not now expanding and never was.

Evidence in support of general relativity came quickly. Astronomers had long known that Mercury's orbital motion around the sun deviated slightly from what Newton's mathematics predicted. In 1915, Einstein used his new equations to recalculate Mercury's trajectory and was able to explain the discrepancy, a realization he later described to his colleague Adrian Fokker as so thrilling that for some hours it gave him heart palpitations.

General relativity then establishes that objects move toward regions where time elapses more slowly; in a sense, all objects "want" to age as slowly as possible. From an Einsteinian perspective, that explains why an object falls when you let go of it.

Special relativity declares a similar law for all motion: the combined speed of any object's motion through space and its motion through time is always precisely equal to the speed of light.

No deviations from the predictions of general relativity have been found in experiments performed with our present level of technology.

The first variation is called the delayed-choice experiment and was suggested in 1980 by the eminent physicist John Wheeler. The experiment brushes up against an eerily odd-sounding question: Does the past depend on the future?

Within the modified equations, Kaluza found the ones Einstein had already used successfully to describe gravity in the familiar three dimensions of space and one of time. But because his new formulation included an additional dimension of space, Kaluza found an additional equation. Lo and behold, when Kaluza derived this equation he recognized it as the very one Maxwell had discovered half a century earlier to describe the electromagnetic field.

According to special relativity, no longer can space and time be thought of as universal concepts set in stone, experienced identically by everyone. Rather, space and time emerged from Einstein's reworking as malleable constructs whose form and appearance depend on one's state of motion.