"Einstein's Theory of Gravity Holds Up on Test of a ..." Topic

…Three-Star System

"Scientists understand gravity pretty well when it comes to two objects, but add a third, and you've got chaos—a system that's impossible to explain with our simplest equations. But you also have a way to test the limits of Einstein's theory of gravity.

You're probably aware of the fact that there are a lot of outstanding questions about our universe—like what is dark energy, what is dark matter, and why can't one unified physics theory explain both the biggest and smallest objects in the universe? A recurring theme of experiments probing these problems is that they test Einstein's theory of general relativity. You look at the extremes of the theory, hoping there are places where the real world doesn't agree with it. But no matter what anyone does, the theory hasn't failed yet.

"Testing general relativity is important right now," Anne Archibald, a physicist from the University of Amsterdam, told Gizmodo. "We're testing it in a way that's been difficult up to now."…."
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Amicalement
Armand

Sorry, slight derails:

I'm glad the article and the resulting comments brought up Liu Cixin's novel "The Three Body Problem". I finished it and am halfway through his second in the trilogy.

Secondly, this article makes me think of Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection. He was the first to fully conceive of evolution as a means to explain the world's biodiversity at a time when the was no real biochemistry, no understanding of DNA, and no concepts of how mutations occur and are passed down from generation to generation. Think of all the biological advances that have occurred since Darwin's time and the challenges this would have made on his theory. His theory has passed every test thrown at it and is now universally accepted as fact. And I'm including dubious challenges such as Behe's "Irreducible Complexity".

I don't think it is hyperbole at all to suggest that both Einstein and Darwin are two of humanity's greatest scientists and thinkers.

/derail

Agree!.

Amicalement
Armand