Introduction:
In November 1915, Albert Einstein (1879-1955) published his field equations that would topple the Newtonian World View, usher in a new understanding of force, and explain that the idea of gravitational “force” at a distance should be abandoned. Newton coined the term “force,” but couldn’t explain its origin.
Hypothesis non Fingo:
“Hypothesis non fingo” (I contrive no hypotheses), meaning that he knew how to calculate the magnitude of the gravitational “force numerically”, but he could not account for it. Still, he did do away with Atlas and other strange explanations of what keeps the heavens stable and intact.
Albert’s Novel:
Albert’s novel approach to explaining gravity as an acceleration was, as he (Albert) put it, “his happiest” thought. It was said that Einstein commented on it thus:
” The young Albert was sitting at his desk in the patent office at Bern when this thought occurred to him: If a person fell freely from the roof of his house, he would not feel his weight?” I assume he did not envision the image of the sprawled-out person on the floor after impact.
Einstein Prizes:
My “good” friend John Wheeler (191-2008), winner of Wolf, Bohr and Einstein prizes, explained these equations most succinctly:
“Matter tells spacetime how to curve, and curved spacetime tells matter how to move”.
Albert in Mathematics:
Returning to Einstein, scholars are fond of relaying the following story that Albert once discussed his Mathematical problems with arguably the greatest Mathematician of the 20th century, namely David Hilbert (1862-1943), whose workplace in Gottingen I visited in 2009 and who is famous for his 23 problems, consequently after this interaction, David almost beat Einstein to the Relativity summit. Today, it is Albert, not David, who is remembered for the development of the General Theory of Relativity. The story’s moral is that you need to discuss your Mathematical issues with a Mathematician.
Marcel Grossman:
One should also mention the Swiss Mathematician and friend of Albert Einstein, Marcel Grossman (1878-1936) in this little story who was Albert’s colleague at the ETH in Zurich and who was the individual responsible for explaining the subtleties and niceties of tensors to him and set him on the road to climbing Mount Relativity and reaching its peak.
Quantum Mechanics and the Einstein-Bohr Debate:
Despite his enormous contributions to physics, Einstein disagreed with the then-emerging theory of quantum mechanics, especially concerning its probabilistic aspects. The well-known Einstein-Bohr discussions between Einstein and Niels Bohr highlighted Einstein’s doubts about the basic principles of quantum theory, which he memorably stated in his statement that “God does not play dice with the universe.” Despite his misgivings, quantum mechanics evolved into a crucial aspect of physics, advancing technology and our understanding of the tiny universe.
Conclusion:
Einstein’s academic path served as a tribute to the capacity of a curious mind free from social constraints. Einstein revolutionized science with his light, space, time, and gravity theories. His intellectual odyssey inspires Future generations to set out on their odysseys of knowledge, creativity, and a more profound comprehension of the universe.
