Introduction:
Sir Arthur Eddington (1882-1944) was trained in the three disciplines I have studied: Mathematics, Physics and Astronomy. I have, of course, taken detours in my studies, but I have always remained faithful to this trinity of subjects whilst becoming a student of all the Sciences.
Nuclear Fusion of Hydrogen into Helium:
Scholars claim that Arthur explained the energy-creating process within stars before any of his peers (i.e., the nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium). Arthur was said to be Einstein’s Champion, and staying with Albert, Arthur was one of the first to demonstrate comprehension of Einstein’s theories on relativity. Others who showed such abilities include Max Born (1882-1970) and Hermann Minkowski (1864-1909). Of course, since then, many generations of scientists have advanced Albert’s ideas, perhaps none more so than Sir Roger Penrose (1931-), who I recently heard about during an online course in August 2021 at the University of Arizona (I to add that Roger was an undergraduate at UCL so every day I can walk in the footsteps of a “Giant”).
General Theory of Relativity:
Arthur was appointed Astronomer Royal and is linked to the event that toppled Newton’s gravitational theory. Arthur, who became Astronomer Royal, was involved in toppling Newton’s theory of gravity. Later, Einstein’s theory of gravity—which we now refer to as the General Theory of Relativity—replaced Isaac’s hypothesis. Thus, what did Arthur do? During a solar eclipse, Arthur measured the position of stars and compared their locations before the eclipse.
Einstein’s and Newton’s Theories:
According to the theories proposed by Einstein and Newton, this light would experience a bending effect. The stars would appear at a slightly different location. The presence of a big object causes this location discrepancy. In this example, our sun can distort light. Albert’s calculations were more accurate than Isaac’s in predicting the bending or angle of an arc. Therefore, during the solar eclipse on 29 May 1919 (just after the 1st world war with Germany), Arthur was responsible for the toppling of Newton’s theory, which had sat on the high table of Physics since 1687 and made room for the hypothesis of a German-born Jew.
One of Arthur’s most famous quotes is:
“The law that entropy always increases holds, I think, the supreme position among the laws of Nature. If someone points out to you that your pet theory of the universe disagrees with Maxwell’s equations – then so much the worse for Maxwell’s equations if it is found to be contradicted by observation – well, these experimentalists do bungle things sometimes. But if your theory is against the Second Law of Thermodynamics, then I can give you no hope; there is nothing for it but to collapse in deepest humiliation.”
Conclusion:
Sir Arthur Eddington made groundbreaking contributions to astronomy, supported Einstein’s theories, and excelled at explaining difficult concepts, cementing his reputation as a pivotal scientific figure.
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