God's equation : Einstein, relativity, and the expanding universe

257 Pages·1999·2.41 MB·English

by  Amir D.

ALSO BY AMIR D. ACZEL

FERMAT'S LAST THEOREM

Unlocking the Secret of an Ancient Mathematical Problem

"Captivating...a tale of buried treasure...lucidly presented."
—The New York Times

Available from Dell
PRAISE FOR AMIR D. ACZEL'S
FERMAT'S LAST THEOREM

"This is a captivating volume....The brilliant backdoor
method used by Mr. Wiles as he reached his solution, along
with the debt he owed to many other contemporary
mathematicians, is graspable in Mr. Aczel's lucid prose.
Equally important is the sense of awe that Mr. Aczel imparts
for the hidden, mystical harmonies of numbers, and for that
sense of awe alone, his slender volume is well worth the
effort."

—The New York Times

"For more than three centuries, Fermat's Last Theorem was
the most famous unsolved problem in mathematics; here's
the story of how it was solved....An excellent short history of
mathematics, viewed through the lens of one of its great
problems—and achievements."

—Kirkus Reviews

"This exciting recreation of a landmark discovery reveals the
great extent to which modern mathematics is a collaborative
enterprise....While avoiding technical details, Aczel maps the
strange, beautiful byways of modern mathematical thought in
ways the layperson can grasp."

—Publishers Weekly

"A mathematical bonbon of a book...Briefly chronicles the
history of the famous problem of the title, which was
recently solved by a mathematician named Andrew Wiles
after he had devoted seven years to the task....Aczel does a
superb job of creating in the nonmathematical reader the
illusion of comprehension."

—The New Yorker
Einstein, Relativity,
and the Expanding Universe

<>

Amir D. Aczel
A Delta Book
Published by
Dell Publishing
a division of
Random House, Inc.
1540 Broadway
New York, New York 10036

Copyright © 1999 Amir D. Aczel.

Cover design by Royce Becker.

Cover photo © Illustrated London News/Archive Photos.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
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Delta® is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the
colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.

Albert Einstein™ Licensed by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Represented by the Roger Richman Agency, Inc., Beverly Hills, CA.

ISBN: 0-385-33485-0

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-36319

Reprinted by arrangement with Four Walls Eight Windows
Manufactured in the United States of America
Published simultaneously in Canada

December 2000
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
FFG
To my father, Captain E. L. Aczel

Contents

Preface < IX >

CHAPTER 1
Exploding Stars < 1 >
CHAPTER 2
Early Einstein < 1 3 >
CHAPTER 3
Prague, 1911 < 2 7 >
CHAPTER 4
Euclid's Riddle < 4 3 >
CHAPTER 5
Grossmann's Notebooks < 6 1 >
CHAPTER 6
The Crimean Expedition < 7 1 >
CHAPTER 7
Riemann's Metric < 9 1 >
CHAPTER 8
Berlin < 1 0 5 >
CHAPTER 9
Principe Island < 1 2 1 >
CHAPTER 10
The joint Meeting < 1 3 9 >
CHAPTER 11
Cosmological Considerations < 1 4 9 >
CHAPTER 12
The Expansion of Space < 1 6 7 >
CHAPTER 13
The Nature of Matter < 1 8 1 >
CHAPTER 14
The Geometry of the Universe < 1 8 9 >
CHAPTER 15
Batavia, Illinois, May 4,1998 < 1 9 7 >
CHAPTER 16
God’s Equation < 2 0 7 >

References < 2 2 1 >
Index < 2 2 5 >

< VI I >

Preface

In January 1998, the way we perceive the universe changed
forever. Astronomers found evidence that the cosmos is
expanding at an ever-increasing rate. As soon as the new
findings were announced, cosmologists from all over the
world rushed to try to explain the underlying phenomenon.
The most promising theory these scientists could come up
with was one that Albert Einstein had proposed eight
decades earlier and quickly retracted, calling it his greatest
blunder. Every year, new developments prove the accuracy of
Einstein's theories. But if the cosmologists' new assessments
are correct, then Einstein was right even when he was sure
he was wrong.
About the time this astounding news was being reported, I
received a curious piece of mail. It was sent to me by L. P.
Lebel, a reader of my book Fermat's Last Theorem who had
become a friend, and with whom I'd been exchanging letters.
This time, however, the envelope contained no letter: simply
a cutting of an article written by George Johnson in the New
York Times. I read the article with great interest: it was about
pure mathematics, not physics or cosmology. In the article,
Mr. Johnson posed an intriguing question: Is it possible that
other forms of mathe-

< I X >