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Einstein:Notjustanesotericcelebrity
WrittenbySudheendraKulkarni|Updated:December2,20154:44pm

AlbertEinstein

Whyisitthatnobodyunderstandsme,yeteverybodylikesme?abemusedAlbertEinsteinaskedaNewYorkTimesinterviewerin
1944.Sevendecadeslater,admirationforthescientisthassoaredenormously,eventhoughhisscienceremainsasunfathomable
tothegeneralpublicasbefore.Itsunderstandingislimitedtothefraternityofphysicists,manyofwhomarestillgrapplingwiththe
bafflingimplicationsofhistheories.
Einsteincanbecreditedwithtwounmatchedachievements:First,headdedsuchrevolutionarynewknowledgetothescienceof
thephysicalworldthatithasforcedustochangeourconventionalnotionsaboutthebasicbuildingblocksofthecosmosspace,
timeandmatter.Second,hehumanisedhighscienceandbroughtmasspopularitytoit,whileretainingitsmysteriousquality.His
fameisallthemoreexceptionalbecausehisachievementinscienceisnotwithinthegraspoftheordinarymind.Newtonian
physicswassimple,formulaicandeasytoassociatewiththemovementofobjectsourhandscouldtouchandfeel.
Incontrast,anunderstandingofEinsteinstheoriesofspecialandgeneralrelativitydemands,besidespiercingimagination,atleast
someknowledgeoftheexcitingjourneyofphysicsinthe19thand20thcenturies.Theyear1905ishailedasamiraculousyearin
thehistoryofphysicsbecauseoffivepathbreakingpapersproducedbyEinstein,thenonly26.Oneofthemunveiledthespecial
theoryofrelativity,whichstatedthatduetotheconstancyofthespeedoflightforallobservers(andnothingcanexceedthespeed
oflight),thenotionsoftimeandspacedependononesstateofmotion.
Oneconsequenceofthisisthatthemassofanyobjectisgivenbyitstotalenergydividedbythesquareofthespeedoflight.This
istheequationE=mc2,whosesimplicity,eleganceandpopularityareunsurpassed.Adecadelater,inNovember1915,Einstein
presentedhisgeneraltheoryofrelativity.Evenmoreesotericthanthepreviousone,itcompletelycapsizesourunderstandingof
Newtoniangravity.Farfrombeinganattractiveforcebetweentwoobjects,gravity,thegeneraltheoryofrelativitytellsus,shouldbe
understoodaswarpsandcurvesinmutativespacetime.
Herespaceandtimelosetheirseparateandabsoluteexistenceandbecome,withthemeshingofthethreedimensionsofspace
withonedimensionoftime,asingleflexiblefabricofpuregeometry.Thefabricsagsinthepresenceofmassiveobjectsofmatter.It
doesbogglethemindtopictureit,butwhenanobjectfalls,itissimplystretchingandcreatingadipinspacetime.American
physicist,JohnWheeler,hassimplifiedthispictureinasinglesentence:Curvedspacetimetellsmatterhowtomovemattertells
spacetimehowtocurve.Ofcourse,thisexplanation,too,stretchesourpowerofcomprehension.
Allthismayseemabstractandarcane,butEinsteinstheoriesofrelativityhavehighlyusefulpracticalapplications.Forexample,the
satellitebasedandprecisionintensiveglobalpositioningsystem(GPS)appliestheknowledgeprovidedbybothspecialand
generaltheoriesofrelativity.GPStechnologytakesintoaccountthefactthatthecurvatureofspacetimeislesshighabovethanit
isattheEarthssurface,wheregravityisstronger.Itisthereasonwhyclocksonboardsatellitesrunfasterthanclocksonthe
ground.
Thebeautyofgeneralrelativityisthatitexplainsallgravitationalphenomena,fromthesmallest(fallingapples)tothelargest
(escapinggalaxies).Einsteinspredictionthatlightfromastarisbentbythegravitationalfieldofthesunhasbeenvalidated.His
theoryhashelpedexplainthediscoveryofblackholes,objectssodensethatevenlightcannotescapetheirgravity.Ithasalso

providedaframeworktodiscussthecosmosandaidedscientificaffirmationoftwootherfantasticcelestialfacts:thebigbangbirth
ofouruniverseandalsoitssubsequentexpansionatanacceleratedpace.
Einsteinstheorypredictedtheexistenceofgravitationalwaveswhosediscoverywillprovideanunprecedentedviewofthe
universe.Indiahasauniqueopportunitytoparticipateinahighprofileinternationalexperiment,calledLigo(LaserInterferometer
GravitationalWaveObservatory),toobservethesewaves.Twositeshavebeenidentifiedfortheexperiment,whichisexpectedto
yieldalotoftechnologyspinoffs.OnehopesthattheNarendraModigovernmentseizesthisopportunityforIndiatoplayaleading
roleincuttingedgeresearch.
WeinIndiashouldbeproudofEinsteinsspecialconnectionwithourcountry.Heinteractedwiththreeofthegreatestcontemporary
IndiansMahatmaGandhi,RabindranathTagore(hisdialoguewiththepoetonwhethertheuniverseexistsindependentofthe
humanobserverisprofoundlyphilosophical)andJawaharlalNehru.Thebasisoftheiraffinityandadmirationwastheircommon
commitmenttoaworldwithoutviolence.
Indeed,oneofEinsteinslastinglegacieswashisleadership,alongwithBertrandRussell,inissuingtheRussellEinsteinManifesto
fornucleardisarmamentandworldpeace.Headvocatedprogressiveideals,socialismbeingoneofthem,withextraordinary
courage.Obviously,thegeniuswhowasrelentlesslyexploringharmonyintheuniversethroughaunificationofscientificlawswas
alsodreamingofunityandharmonythroughjusticeinthehumanrealm.This,too,isareasonwhyEinsteinhasremainedthemost
admiredlegendofscience.

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