Although after each proof, the result is usually he is right.
Recently, a team from the Japan Research Institute of Physics and Chemistry, or RIKEN for short, attempted to test Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
Time at the top of the Tokyo Skytree actually passes faster than on the ground, even though the difference is only 4 billionths of a second. (Photo: Reuters).
For the study, published in the journal Nature Photonics, RIKEN’s team used an optical grid atomic clock, a very high-precision clock placed underground and on the observation deck of the Tokyo Skytree (450 feet high). m) to retest part of Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
The idea is to use a clock with an accuracy of one billionth of a second to confirm that time is indeed affected by gravity. Previously, experiments like this could be done using two points at a distance of thousands of kilometers, which meant measuring in outer space.
Professor Hidetoshi Katori of the University of Tokyo with a super-precise atomic clock. (Photo: Suzuko Araki).
“Performing a rigorous test of general relativity requires clocks that are absolutely accurate, or extremely distant. Clocks at higher altitudes will run faster when placed closer to the ground, according to the theory. Einstein’s general relativity,” explained the study authors.
With this experiment, RIKEN also wanted to “show off” its super-precise watch. Measurements show that every day, the time at the top of the Skytree tower will be 4 nanoseconds (4 billionths of a second) faster than on the ground.
The number of errors is quite small because the change in gravity at an altitude of a few hundred meters is usually not much, but it once again shows that Einstein was right!
General relativity, studied by Einstein more than 100 years ago, still holds true today. But we often see many articles titled “whether Einstein was wrong” . Why are scientists so obsessed with proving Einstein’s theories?
In the opinion of author Caroline Delbert on Popular Mechanics, perhaps part of the reason is because of Einstein’s popularity. He is the world’s most famous physicist and has become an icon of science, perhaps equivalent to Mohandas Gandhi or Martin Luther King for 20th-century struggle.
Albert Einstein is often associated with sayings that he never said. (Photo: GD Konstaintine).
Entering the Internet age, Einstein became even more famous when many people attributed unrelated statements to him. In 2017, Interesting Engineering compiled 13 sayings that are often attributed to a picture of Albert Einstein, but the physicist never actually said it.
These are all inspirational quotes, but putting one of the greatest scientists in the mouth would probably lend more credibility. Similarly, an article that mentions Einstein will certainly have more interest than a complicated physics experiment.
But scientifically, there’s a reason why even an entry-level physics student would be eager to prove Einstein’s theories.
Einstein built a huge system of theories about the nature of gravity and time more than 100 years ago, with a scientific foundation of the 19th century and “early” experimental and measurement tools compared to today. now.
Einstein’s theory of spacetime holds true both on Earth and in space. (Photo: NASA).
Now that much progress has been made in the field of quantum mechanics, posterity will inevitably question the accuracy of Einstein’s theories in certain contexts.
These contexts were mostly on a molecular scale, or a scale that Einstein had no way of observing at the time, because he had never held in his hand an optical grid atomic clock.
Science is a process of trial and error. In order to continue to make new discoveries, it is imperative that we continually test fundamental theories such as Einstein’s theory of relativity.
That’s why when we find smaller particles and more distant galaxies, we’re back to questioning the theories Einstein wrote down in the early 20th century.