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Aczel shows Einstein's aesthetic troubles with the cosmological constant, which preceded theoretical and experimental problems leading to its abandonment. The universe was caught in the act of expansion by Edwin Hubble and the constant, originally invoked to maintain a steady-state universe, was unnecessary. Fortunately, though, the mathematics underlying the constant had become important tools for physicists; observations in 1997 and 1998 by Saul Perlmutter, Neta Bahcall and others showed that the universe will continue expanding indefinitely and sent theorists back to the drawing board to revise their equations. The cosmological constant returned triumphant and, while its inventor might never have approved of it, today's scientific community gives it an honoured role in God's Equation. --Rob Lightner, Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Einsten's first contribution in 1905---the special theory of relativity which says is essence that the speed of light is constant regardless of how fast the source of light moves towards or away from the observer---is set out simply and clearly as are its scientific antecedents; ie, the advances in physics (Michelson-Morley), non-Euclidian geometry (Riemann, Grossman), and mathematics (Gauss, Minkowski) which underlay the Special theory and, crucially, the later General Theory. The latter was published in the late 1920s and in effect links the Special Theory to Gravity, producing what is referred to today as the first unified field equation.
Two further points are worthy of mention. One is Aczel's extraordinary grasp of the history of science; to take but one example, Aczel traces the progress of Euclidian geometry from ancient Greece via Ptolemy of Alexandria and the Persian mathematician, Nasiraddin, its smuggling Cordoba by Adelhart of Bath in the 12th Century, from whence it was published in Latin in Venice in 1482. The second is Aczel's account of the relevance of Einstein achievements to the breathtaking world of modern physics and cosmology. All this is accomplished with the greatest simplicity in the space of just over 200 pages.
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