Related papers: Einstein's Patents and Inventions
Recent results on solutions of the Einstein equations with matter are surveyed and a number of open questions are stated. The first group of results presented concern asymptotically flat spacetimes, both stationary and dynamical. Then there…
The gedanken-experiment of Einstein's lift is analyzed in order of determining whether the free-falling observer inside the lift can detect the eventual topological non-triviality of space-time
A hundred years ago, the quantum concept provoked a revolution in science and the search of a new conceptual basis for whole physics, as emphasized by Einstein. In this paper, I discuss the essential features of Planck's works in 1900 on…
This review describes the discovery of gravitational waves. We recount the journey of predicting and finding those waves, since its beginning in the early twentieth century, their prediction by Einstein in 1916, theoretical and experimental…
After a historical discussion of Einstein's 1907 principle of equivalence, a homogeneous gravitational field in Minkowski spacetime is constructed. It is pointed out that the reference frames in gravitational theory can be understood as…
Lorentz [of the Lorentz transforms and Lorentz contractions fame] contended against Einstein that there had to be a medium in which electro-magnetic waves exist and propagate, and that that would of necessity be an absolute frame of…
In the 5th century B.C.,the philosopher and logician Zeno of Elea posed several paradoxes which remained unresolved for over two thousand five hundred years. The $20^{th}$ century saw some resolutions to Zeno's mind boggling problems. This…
In 1910 Einstein published a crucial aspect of his understanding of Boltzmann entropy. He essentially argued that the likelihood function of any system composed by two probabilistically independent subsystems {\it ought} to be factorizable…
The Bohr--Einstein debate is one of the more remarkable protracted intellectual exchanges in the history of physics. Its influence has been lasting: One of the few clear patterns in a 2013 survey about quantum foundations was that the…
Most early twentieth century relativists --- Lorentz, Einstein, Eddington, for examples --- claimed that general relativity was merely a theory of the aether. We shall confirm this claim by deriving the Einstein equations using aether…
While living in different historical era, Charles Darwin (1809-1882) and Albert Einstein (1879-1955) were both prolific correspondents: Darwin sent (received) at least 7,591 (6,530) letters during his lifetime while Einstein sent (received)…
In the century since Einstein's anno mirabilis of 1905, our concept of the Universe has expanded from Kapteyn's flattened disk of stars only 10 kpc across to an observed horizon about 30 Gpc across that is only a tiny fraction of an…
In Einstein's general relativity, with its nonlinear field equations, the discoveries and analyzes of various specific explicit solutions made a great impact on understanding many of the unforeseen features of the theory. Some solutions…
Retrospectively, in 1905, Special Relativity seemed palpably close; it was "in the air". But apparently it needed the fresh approach of an unprejudiced newcomer, Einstein, to take the final step. I report, in a pedagogical fashion, on the…
Since antiquity, from Euclid of Alexandria to Galileo Galilei to Immanuel Kant to Hermann Minkowksi to Albert Einstein, the question of the nature of space and time has occupied scientists and philosophers. In the four-dimensional…
Do We Inhabit The Best O All Possible Worlds? German mathematician Gottfried Leibniz thought so, writing in 1710 that our planet, warts and all, must be the most optimal one imaginable. Leibniz's idea was roundly scorned as unscientific…
Rapid advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are generating much controversy in society, often without scientific basis. As occurred the development of other emerging technologies, such as the introduction of electricity in the early 20th…
On January 4, 2012, the centenary of Henri Poincar\'e's death, a colloquium was held in Nancy, France the subject of which was "Vers une biographie d'Henri Poincar\'e". Scholars discussed several approaches for writing a biography of…
This talk is dedicated to Alberto Sirlin in celebration of his seventieth birthday. I wish to convey my deep appreciation of his many important contributions to particle physics over 40 years and look forward to many more years of…
The mid-17th century saw unprecedented scientific progress. With the Middle Ages well and truly over, the Scientific Revolution had begun. However, scientific advancement does not always proceed along well-planned trajectories. Chance…