The manuscript of ‘Memoirs of Sir Isaac Newton’ shows the words ‘does this apple fall?’ Newton’s curiosity about the falling piece of fruit helped him develop the theory of gravity.
(AP Photo/Lucy Young)
Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein would have bridled under today’s research funding bureaucracy. It’s time to allow scientists to indulge their curiosity again.
Simulated universe: EAGLE collaboration, J Schaye et al 2015.
MNRAS
Is dark energy just an illusion, as is often suggested? To resolve the dilemma, interpreting the basic principles of general relativity in a complex Universe may need a rethink.
Gravity of a white dwarf star warps space and bends the light of a distant star behind it.
NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI
Astronomers report the first ever measurement of light bending around a star other than our own.
When black holes collide, gravitational waves are created in space itself (image is a computer simulation).
The SXS (Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes) Project
Einstein called entanglement “spooky action at a distance”. But now it’s been used to design an incredibly sensitive detection method for gravitational waves.
Einstein’s theories are still not taught in school.
Wikimedia
Both genetic and environmental factors determine someone’s personality. Genes account for between 30-50% of the determination and unique environmental experiences making up the rest.
An illustration showing the merger of two black holes and the gravitational waves that ripple outward.
LIGO/T. Pyle
The observation of gravitational waves from a second black hole merger implies there are many more black holes in the universe than scientists had previously anticipated.
Einstein, an accomplished violinist, claimed that, had he not pursued science, he would have been a musician. That’s worth reflecting on, in the wake of last week’s discovery of gravitational waves.
Music has always played a part in investigating the universe.
Sonic visualisation of 'The Storm' by Peter Drach.
Music has always played a role in our understanding of the universe. Listening to gravitational waves confirms thousands of years of metaphysical investigation.
The discovery of gravitational waves has ushered in a new era in astronomy and physics. Where will the next big discovery be made? There’s no reason for it not to be Africa.
It’s taken centuries for our understanding of gravity to evolve to where it is today, culminating in the discovery of gravitational waves, as predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago.
Oh hey, I heard ripples in space and time, generated as two black holes merged. Call me back.
SXS