The general theory of relativity: Why "It is probably the most beautiful of all existing theories"
Abstract
An attempt is made to objectively evaluate the frequent judgment of Einstein's general theory of relativity, by such distinguished physicists as Pauli (1921), Dirac, Born, and Rutherford, as 'beautiful' and 'a work of art'. The criteria applied are that of Francis Bacon ('There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportions') and that of Heisenberg ('Beauty is the proper conformity of the parts to one another and to the whole'). The strangeness in the proportions of the theory of general relativity consists in its relating, through juxtaposition, the concepts of space and time and those of matter and motion; these had previously been considered entirely independent. The criterion of 'conformity' is illustrated through the directness with which the theory allows the description of black holes.
- Publication:
-
Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy
- Pub Date:
- March 1984
- DOI:
- 10.1007/BF02714967
- Bibcode:
- 1984JApA....5....3C
- Keywords:
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- Philosophy;
- Relativity;
- Black Holes (Astronomy);
- Astrophysics;
- Black Hole;
- General Theory;
- Neutron Star;
- Event Horizon;
- Macroscopic Object