English
Related papers

Related papers: Einstein's biggest mistake?

200 papers

The objective of this paper is not simply to present an historical overview of Einstein's cosmological considerations, but to discuss the central role they played in shaping the paradigm of relativistic cosmology. This, we'll show, was a…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2014-02-14 Daryl Janzen

We present a historical review of Einstein's 1917 paper 'Cosmological Considerations in the General Theory of Relativity' to mark the centenary of a key work that set the foundations of modern cosmology. We find that the paper followed as a…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2017-08-02 Cormac O'Raifeartaigh , Michael O'Keeffe , Werner Nahm , Simon Mitton

We present a centennial review of the history of the term known as the cosmological constant. First introduced to the general theory of relativity by Einstein in 1917 in order to describe a universe that was assumed to be static, the term…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2018-04-18 Cormac O'Raifeartaigh , Michael O'Keeffe , Werner Nahm , Simon Mitton

The cosmological constant was proposed 100 years ago in order to make the model of static Universe, imagined then by most scientists, possible. Today it is the main candidate for the physical essence causing the observed accelerated…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2018-08-01 Bohdan Novosyadlyj

Einstein introduced Cosmological Constant in his field equations in an ad hoc manner. Cosmological constant plays the role of vacuum energy of the universe which is responsible for the accelerating expansion of the universe. To give…

General Physics · Physics 2015-06-15 B. Raychaudhuri , F. Rahaman , M. Kalam

The recent discovery that Einstein once attempted - and quickly abandoned - a steady-state model of the expanding universe sheds new light on his philosophical journey from static to dynamic cosmologies.

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2016-01-12 Cormac O'Raifeartaigh

The interesting early history of the cosmological term is reviewed, beginning with its introduction by Einstein in 1917 and ending with two papers of Zel'dovich, shortly before the advent of spontaneously broken gauge theories. Beside…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2007-05-23 Norbert Straumann

Einstein's most famous equation -- $E=mc^2$ -- generated a short-circuit between the concepts of mass and energy, which also affects other concepts like matter, radiation, and vacuum. Physics currently has a mixture of classical,…

General Physics · Physics 2021-07-21 Luigi Foschini

Einstein rejected the differential law of energy-momentum conservation $ T^{\mu\nu}_{;\nu} = 0 $. In doing so, he violated the principle of general covariance. Here, we prove the conservation law $ T^{\mu\nu}_{;\nu} = 0 $ and discuss its…

General Physics · Physics 2008-02-03 Kenneth Dalton

I argue that Einstein overlooked an important aspect of the relativity of time in never quite realizing his quest to embody Mach's principle in his theory of gravity. As a step towards that goal, I broaden the Strong Equivalence Principle…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2010-04-21 David L. Wiltshire

Starting with Einstein's famous papers of 1905, we review some of the ensuing developments and their impact on present-day physics. We attempt to cover topics that are of interest to historians and philosophers of science as well as to…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 Domenico Giulini , Norbert Straumann

From its very beginning, Quantum Theory developed contrary to the intentions of its creators. For Max Planck it marks the failure of a long-term research program, in which he tried to understand the 2nd law of thermodynamics…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 Domenico Giulini

The cosmological constant (CC) term in Einstein's equations, Lambda, was first associated to the idea of vacuum energy density. Notwithstanding, it is well-known that there is a huge, in fact appalling, discrepancy between the theoretical…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2015-03-19 Joan Sola

Was Einstein wrong? This paper provides a detailed technical review of Einstein's special and general relativity from an astrophysical perspective, including the historical development of the theories, experimental tests, modern…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-05-11 Flora Lopis , Max Tegmark

Even if Einstein brought major contributions as a founder of quantum mechanics, he remained deeply unsatisfied with the bases of this structure he knew to be so efficient for physics. His critics are often known through his numerous…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 P. Roussel

Since its inception, quantum theory has been the subject of fierce interpretive controversy, which persists to this day. Disputed topics include the basic ontology and dynamics of the theory, the role (if any) of measurement, the meaning of…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2025-12-30 Tim Maudlin

As we mark the centenary of Albert Einstein's seminal contribution to both quantum mechanics and special relativity, we approach another anniversary--that of Einstein's foundation of the quantum theory of solids. But 100 years on, the same…

Strongly Correlated Electrons · Physics 2007-05-23 P. Coleman , A. J. Schofield

We study physical situation considered by Einstein (Ann. Physik, 17, 1905) for his first derivation of mass-energy equivalence. Einstein introduced a constant $C$ in his derivation and reasoning surrounding $C$ and equations containing $C$…

History and Philosophy of Physics · Physics 2007-05-23 R. V. R. Pandya

We propose to reinterpret Einstein's field equations as a nonlinear eigenvalue problem, where the cosmological constant $\Lambda$ plays the role of the (smallest) eigenvalue. This interpretation is fully worked out for a simple model of…

General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology · Physics 2021-03-12 Giovanni Manfredi

Albert Einstein postulated the equivalence of energy and mass, developed the theory of special relativity, explained the photoelectric effect, and described Brownian motion in five papers, all published in 1905, 100 years ago. With these…

Astrophysics · Physics 2009-11-10 Charles L. Bennett