Related papers: The Great Rift in Physics
In quantum gravity there is no notion of absolute time. Like all other quantities in the theory, the notion of time has to be introduced "relationally", by studying the behavior of some physical quantities in terms of others chosen as a…
For the last 100 years, General Relativity (GR) has taken over the gravitational theory mantle held by Newtonian Gravity for the previous 200 years. This article reviews the status of GR in terms of its self-consistency, completeness, and…
In this dissertation the question of the unification of quantum theory and general relativity is treated. Based on the conceptual structure of these theories and under incorporation of certain ideas from classical philosophy there are…
Quantizing the gravitational field described by General relativity being a notorious difficult, unsolved and maybe meaningless problem I use in this essay a different strategy: I consider a linear theory in the framework of Special…
This work deals with the questions of absolute space and relativity. In particular, an alternative derivation of the effects described by special relativity is provided, which is based on a description that assumes a privileged reference…
Our assumption that spacetime is a continuum leads to many challenges in mathematical physics. Singularities, divergent integrals and the like threaten many of our favorite theories, from Newtonian gravity to classical electrodynamics,…
I discuss the ontological assumptions and implications of General Relativity. I maintain that General Relativity is a theory about gravitational fields, not about space-time. The latter is a more basic ontological category, that emerges…
While many observations support the validity of Einstein's general relativity as the theory of gravity, there are yet many that suggest the presence of new physics. In order to explain the high-redshift supernovae Ia observations together…
Recent developments on Bell's experiments demonstrate that entanglement could indeed eliminate the gap between classical and quantum physics. At the same time, it is difficult for a classical theory to include a particular feature like…
Two questions are suggested as having priority when trying to bring together Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity. Both questions have a scope which goes well beyond Physics, and in particular Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity.
The issues related to bringing together the principles of general relativity and quantum theory are discussed. After briefly summarising the points of conflict between the two formalisms I focus on four specific themes in which some contact…
Einstein's general theory of relativity poses many problems to the quantum theory of point particle fields. Among them is the fate of a massive point particle. Since its rest mass exists entirely within its Schwarzschild radius, in the…
The search for a quantum theory of gravity has been one of the main aims of theoretical physics for many years by now. However the efforts in this direction have been often hampered by the lack of experimental/observational tests able to…
In this paper, we examine the relationship between general relativity and the theory of Einstein algebras. We show that according to a formal criterion for theoretical equivalence recently proposed by Halvorson (2012, 2015) and Weatherall…
Historians recently rehabilitated Einstein's "physical strategy" for General Relativity (GR). Independently, particle physicists similarly re-derived Einstein's equations for a massless spin 2 field. But why not a light \emph{massive} spin…
The phenomenon of quantum entanglement is explained in a way which is fully consistent with Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. A subtle flaw is identified in the logic supporting the view that Bell's Inequality precludes all local…
This short review is addressed to cosmologists. General relativity predicts that space-time comes to an end and physics comes to a halt at the big-bang. Recent developments in loop quantum cosmology have shown that these predictions cannot…
That gravitation can be understood as purely metric phenomenon depends crucially on the validity of a number of hypotheses which are summarised by the Einstein Equivalence Principle, the least well tested part of which being the…
Thomas S. Kuhn interprets the development of the (natural) sciences as a specific dynamical process. Periods of piecemeal growth of knowledge based on widely accepted paradigms are interrupted by bursts of revolutionary changes which lead…
The starting point of quantum mechanics is the relationship between energy and momentum: energy is proportional to the squared momentum! As a result, energy and momentum have not been treated equally. The wave equation required by…