In Einstein's time he must have felt quite silly by thinking that the universe is static when Hubble proved the universe is expanding. However now more than 80 years later, scientists are still having a hard time explaining this mysterious force that causes the universe to expand in an accelerating pattern. Model after model such as "rolling scalar fields" have been introduced and then lose support while Einstein's cosmological constant continues to remain relevant to this day. Obviously the study of dark energy is full of unknowns, however it is truly astonishing that what Albert Einstein considered a mistake may actually lead to the keys to unlocking the knowledge of how the expansion of universe continues to accelerate.
Works cited
http://hubblesite.org/hubble_discoveries/dark_energy/de-did_einstein_predict.php
http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy/
http://www.gizmag.com/einstein-cosmological-constant-dark-energy/25809/
http://www.space.com/19282-einstein-cosmological-constant-dark-energy.html
The Cosmological perspective Chapter 22
This was a really interesting article. Its funny that even Einstein's "mistakes" still turn out to help advance the world of cosmology. Its astonishing that we still know so little about dark energy even though it consists of more than 70% of the mass-energy content. It will be interesting to find out what it is made up of and why it actually causes the constant expansion of the universe.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your blog since we haven't learned much about the cosmological constant and it made me want to learn more about it. While the cosmological constant is in fact Einstein's "greatest blunder" because he was convinced the universe was static, you're right: it is indeed still relevant today. Many scientists have wanted to revive this constant on theoretical grounds because it could explain some of the forces of energy that is accelerating the expansion of our universe, as Hubble proved and continued studies have shown. In modern field theory, the constant is associated with the energy density of the universe and makes its age older than it would be without the term, which is consistent with the large-scale distribution of galaxies, CMB fluctuations and observed x-ray clusters.
ReplyDeleteI think the cosmological principle shouldn't be ruled out completely, especially since Einstein is one of science's greats--even if it is his greatest mistake, it could be his greatest discovery as well.
Source:http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/universe/uni_accel.html
Fascinating blog post Anthony. I loved learning about how Einstein basically lived in a time period where everyone around him could not even fathom understanding what theories Einstein was coming up with. I find it very interesting how Einstein's mistake actually may lead to a breakthrough discovery. Another thing that I thought about when reading your article is that, Einstein was so smart that even now scientists are having trouble understanding things that Einstein was trying to prove. It shows how intelligent he was and how someone like that only comes around every so often.
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