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Friday, July 30, 2021

General Relativity Theory of Albert Einstein Proven Again as Stanford University Astronomers Detect Surrounding Light in Space Bent Behind the Black Hole I Zwicky 1

Once again, Albert Einstein's Theory of General Relativity has been proven right, as Stanford University astronomers have detected for the first time ever that light surrounding a black hole in space (I Zwicky 1) is bent around that black hole and comes into view at its back, as predicted by Einstein's theory "that massive objects cause a distortion in space-time, which is felt as gravity" (Libertore).

Stacy Liberatore has the story at Dailymail.com with useful accompanying graphics. The original article, Light bending and X-ray echoes from behind a supermassive black hole, was published in Nature magazine just two days ago.

See: Wilkins, D.R., Gallo, L.C., Costantini, E. et al. Light bending and X-ray echoes from behind a supermassive black hole. Nature 595, 657–660 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03667-0

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Sunday, October 04, 2020

Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity Confirmed Resoundingly by the First Astrophysics Photograph of a Cosmic "Black Hole"

The coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic once again drives home the recognition that humankind inhabits a universe harboring many mysteries at microscopic but also macroscopic levels. "Viruses" that are 1000 times smaller than a human hair and that are by definition not even "alive" can wreak havoc on our "living" biological organisms. As previously written at andiskaulins.com [moderately edited]:

"[Our] theory of the universe derives from the observation that every human being is a PART of the universe. We are neither "outside" looking "in" nor "inside" looking "out". We are inside looking inside.

Our structure -- whatever it is -- must be the same as the rest of the universe.... For those more "physically" and/or "technically" inclined, see [our] blog at Einstein's Voice, which has some thoughts on various theories of Physics [i.e. explanations as to how the universe works].
"

We started the blog Einstein's Voice many years ago to support the deceased Albert Einstein's incomparable theories about how the universe works against some -- in our view -- questionable recently formulated alternative theories, such as "string theory". We adapted the blog name from the famed His Master's Voice.

Albert Einstein's "General Theory of Relativity" (to differentiate "Big Al's" Special Theory of Relativity) remains the primary cornerstone of modern physics, but overwhelming proof of the theory has been hard to come by, as we posted already in 2005 at NASA Gravity Probe-B and Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, quoting Stanford University's Bog Kahn via the Stanford Newsletter as follows:

"For the past 17 months, NASA's Gravity Probe-B (GP-B) satellite has been orbiting the Earth using four ultra-precise gyroscopes, about a million times better than the finest navigational gyroscopes, to generate the data required for this unprecedented test....

This year, physicists celebrate the 100th anniversary of Einstein's "miraculous year," in which he received his doctorate in physics from the University of Zurich and published four seminal papers, including the special theory of relativity and a paper on light that garnered him the Nobel Prize in 1921. But Einstein's crowning achievement came in 1916, with his publication of the general theory of relativity, in which he expanded the special theory of relativity to include the elusive concept of gravity. With general relativity, Einstein forever changed our Newtonian view of gravity as a force, postulating rather that space and time are inextricably woven into a four-dimensional fabric called spacetime, and that gravity is simply the warping and twisting of the fabric of spacetime by massive celestial bodies. Even though it has become one of the cornerstones of modern physics, general relativity has remained the least tested of Einstein's theories. The reason is, as Caltech physicist Kip Thorne once put it: "In the realm of black holes and the universe, the language of general relativity is spoken, and it is spoken loudly. But in our tiny solar system, the effects of general relativity are but whispers." And so, any measurements of the relativistic effects of gravity around Earth must be carried out with utmost precision. Over the past 90 years, various tests of the theory suggest that Einstein was on the right track. But, in most previous tests, the relativity signals had to be extracted from a significant level of background noise. The purpose of GP-B is to test Einstein's theory by carrying out the experiment in a pristine orbiting laboratory, thereby reducing background noise to insignificant levels and enabling the probe to examine general relativity in new ways.
"

As just reported, we now have the

"First photo of a black hole [and it] supports Einstein's theory of relativity" as headlined at CNN by Ashley Strickland. She writes, inter alia:

""Using the gauge we developed, we showed that the measured size of the black hole shadow in M87 tightens the wiggle room for modifications to Einstein's theory of general relativity by almost a factor of 500, compared to previous tests in the solar system," said Feryal Özel, study coauthor and University of Arizona astrophysics professor, in a statement. "Many ways to modify general relativity fail at this new and tighter black hole shadow test." [emphasis added by us]

Now that researchers know they can use images of black holes to test the theory of gravity, it opens up more possibilities for the future.

"Together with gravitational wave observations, this marks the beginning of a new era in black hole astrophysics," said Dimitrios Psaltis, lead study author and University of Arizona astrophysics professor, in a statement.

The black hole shadow test of relativity discussed in the above article is illustrated by the following explanatory graphic, which is linked here from the CNN article, with the following accompanying text (if the image fails, go to the CNN article):

"This visualization, including the first image of a black hole, shows the new gauge developed to test the predictions of modified gravity theories against the measurement of the size of the M87 shadow."

Look especially at the differing sizes of the blue circles
drawn on the black hole by the researchers,
which emphasize the theoretical differences
between Einstein's General Theory of Relativity
and those proposing alternative theories.

Even if the image above is not shown perfectly via the CNN link,
do ultimately go that CNN article to get the entire story!
 

For those statistically inclined,
we can say that the score here was

Albert Einstein 500 Competitors 0.

Einstein's Voice Rejoice!

____________________

Our image below was made by us
using Starry Night Pro astronomy software
and was added a few hours later
after posting the above material.
  The image shows the location of M87 in the starry sky. 



Friday, April 17, 2020

Wednesday, November 06, 2019

General Relativity Made Albert Einstein an Iconic Idol of Science and the World

The Smithsonian mag online has an excellent article by Dan Falk titled One Hundred Years Ago, Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity Baffled the Press and the Public: Few people claimed to fully understand it, but the esoteric theory still managed to spark the public’s imagination.

As Falk writes:
"After two eclipse expeditions confirmed Einstein's theory of general relativity, the scientist became an international celebrity....

"When the year 1919 began, Albert Einstein was virtually unknown beyond the world of professional physicists. By year’s end, however, he was a household name around the globe. November 1919 was the month that made Einstein into “Einstein,” the beginning of the former patent clerk’s transformation into an international celebrity.

On November 6, scientists at a joint meeting of the Royal Society of London and the Royal Astronomical Society announced that measurements taken during a total solar eclipse earlier that year supported Einstein’s bold new theory of gravity, known as general relativity. Newspapers enthusiastically picked up the story. “Revolution in Science,” blared the Times of London; “Newtonian Ideas Overthrown.” A few days later, the New York Times weighed in with a six-tiered headline—rare indeed for a science story. “Lights All Askew in the Heavens,” trumpeted the main headline. A bit further down: “Einstein’s Theory Triumphs” and “Stars Not Where They Seemed, or Were Calculated to Be, But Nobody Need Worry.”

The spotlight would remain on Einstein and his seemingly impenetrable theory for the rest of his life."
Read the whole article ... which also contains several top photos of Einstein.

As linked at the mag,
"Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/one-hundred-years-ago-einsteins-theory-relativity-baffled-press-public-180973427/#RuP6wtKVrwKdqH9F.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter"

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Gravitational-Wave "Revolution" Is Underway - Scientific American


Was there recent talk of Einstein's "general relativity"?

Yes, there was.
It all dropped on us, as it were, as if by gravity -- at the speed of light.
Read on....

At the Scientific American, Jonathan O'Callaghan tells us that:

The Gravitational-Wave “Revolution” Is Underway

writing in this regard as follows:
"The first neutron star merger observed by LIGO and Virgo [...] has helped researchers probe some fundamental aspects of the universe itself. Christopher Berry from Northwestern University notes that gamma rays from the event were detected by other telescopes 1.6 seconds after the gravitational waves, which allowed for an unprecedented test of the speed of gravity versus the speed of light. “We’d expect a little difference in their arrival time because they weren’t necessarily created at the same time,” he says. “But the fact that it was 1.6 seconds allowed us to test that the speed of light and the speed of gravity really are the same thing, as predicted in general relativity.
As the fourth anniversary of the first detection approaches, the field continues to mature—with a bright future ahead.""
Read the full article at:

The Gravitational-Wave "Revolution" Is Underway - Scientific American

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-gravitational-wave-revolution-is-underway/

https://bit.ly/2lYqkPJ

Friday, July 06, 2018

The Standard Model of Physics Viewed by Jonathan Link at Scientific American Blog Network

If you view the universe as experimentally defined "particles", then ... you may have the following conundrum....because particles follow:

The Standard Model of Physics [as] Viewed by Jonathan Link at Scientific American Blog Network

But in an Einsteinian view, there are "fields" and "waves" of plenty....

Indeed, if you look at "Space", the fields and waves would appear to dominate....

Particles are only one (necessarily constrained) way of looking at the universe. But IN what are those particles moving viz. existing ?

"Spaces" in the universe devoid of particles are still "something",

otherwise they would be "nothing", so how could particles move in nothing?

And that is the real issue. Just look at the "Space" below this sentence....













!!!


Sky Earth Native America

Sky Earth Native America 1 :
American Indian Rock Art Petroglyphs Pictographs
Cave Paintings Earthworks & Mounds as Land Survey & Astronomy
,
Volume 1, Edition 2, 266 pages, by Andis Kaulins.

  • Sky Earth Native America 2 :
    American Indian Rock Art Petroglyphs Pictographs
    Cave Paintings Earthworks & Mounds as Land Survey & Astronomy
    ,
    Volume 2, Edition 2, 262 pages, by Andis Kaulins.

  • Both volumes have the same cover except for the labels "Volume 1" viz. "Volume 2".
    The image on the cover was created using public domain space photos of Earth from NASA.

    -----

    Both book volumes contain the following basic book description:
    "Alice Cunningham Fletcher observed in her 1902 publication in the American Anthropologist
    that there is ample evidence that some ancient cultures in Native America,
    e.g. the Pawnee in Nebraska,
    geographically located their villages according to patterns seen in stars of the heavens.
    See Alice C. Fletcher, Star Cult Among the Pawnee--A Preliminary Report,
    American Anthropologist, 4, 730-736, 1902.
    Ralph N. Buckstaff wrote:
    "These Indians recognized the constellations as we do, also the important stars,
    drawing them according to their magnitude.
    The groups were placed with a great deal of thought and care and show long study.
    ... They were keen observers....
    The Pawnee Indians must have had a knowledge of astronomy
    comparable to that of the early white men."
    See Ralph N. Buckstaff, Stars and Constellations of a Pawnee Sky Map,
    American Anthropologist, Vol. 29, Nr. 2, April-June 1927, pp. 279-285, 1927.
    In our book, we take these observations one level further
    and show that megalithic sites and petroglyphic rock carving
    and pictographic rock art in Native America,
    together with mounds and earthworks, were made to represent territorial geographic landmarks
    placed according to the stars of the sky using the ready map of the starry sky
    in the hermetic tradition, "as above, so below".
    That mirror image of the heavens on terrestrial land is the "Sky Earth" of Native America,
    whose "rock stars" are the real stars of the heavens,
    "immortalized" by rock art petroglyphs, pictographs,
    cave paintings, earthworks and mounds of various kinds (stone, earth, shells) on our Earth.
    These landmarks were placed systematically
    in North America, Central America (Meso-America) and South America
    and can to a large degree be reconstructed as the Sky Earth of Native America."

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