Einstein [In a Nutshell]

By Michio Kaku
Designed and Illustrated by Nigel Holmes
DISCOVER Vol. 25 No. 09 | September 2004 | Astronomy & Physics

Relativity and quantum mechanics rank among the greatest achievements of 20th-
century science, constituting the sum of all fundamental physical knowledge. The
former describes the world of the very large, including black holes and the expanding
universe. The latter explains the world of the very small, the microscopic realm of
atoms and subatomic particles. One man—Albert Einstein—was the undisputed father
of the first theory and the godfather of the second.

What was the secret of Einstein’s success? He once said that if a physical theory
cannot be explained to a child, it is probably worthless. In other words, he thought in
terms of simple physical pictures. His greatness lay in his ability to use such pictures
to solve fundamental problems, such as the conflict between Isaac Newton’s theory of
mechanics and James Clerk Maxwell’s theory of light.

The Newtonian system was based on common sense—that a second on Earth is the
same as a second throughout the solar system. We could synchronize our watches
anywhere in the universe because time beats uniformly. Likewise, a foot or a pound
on Earth is the same as a foot or a pound in every other location.

Using mental images of clocks and trains, light beams and speeding bicycles, Einstein
realized that Newton’s system could not be right because it contradicted Maxwell’s
theory of light. Einstein showed that the speed of light must be constant, no matter
how fast you move. For that to be true, time must get slower the faster you move.
Stranger still, lengths contract and masses must increase as you approach the speed of
light. Space and time became relative in his new theory. This pivotal insight
overthrew 250 years of Newtonian physics.

Ten years later, Einstein resolved yet another contradiction in physics. According to
Newton, gravity traveled instantly throughout the universe. But according to the
theory of relativity, nothing can go faster than light. To overcome these incompatible
views, Einstein introduced another, even grander theory in which space and time are
not empty but are instead like a fabric that can be curved and stretched. This new
picture—in which gravity originates from the bending of sheets of space-time—
revolutionized cosmology and gave us the most compelling theory of creation, the Big
Bang.

Thus, pictures even a child could understand would change the course of history and
transform our understanding of the universe.

SPECIAL RELATIVITY
Special relativity unlocked the secrets of the stars and revealed the fantastic quantities
of energy stored deep inside the atom. But the seed of relativity was planted when
Einstein was only 16 years old and asked himself a childlike question: What would a
beam of light look like if you could race alongside it? According to Newton, you
could catch up to any speeding object if you moved quickly enough. If you could
catch up to a light wave, Einstein realized, it would look like a wave frozen in time.
But even as a teenager, he knew that no one had ever seen a frozen light wave before.
In fact, such a wave makes no physical sense.

When Einstein studied Maxwell’s theory of light, he found something that others
missed—that the speed of light always appears the same, no matter how quickly you
move. Einstein then boldly formulated the principle of special relativity: The speed of
light is a constant in all inertial frames (frames that move at constant velocity).

No longer were space and time absolutes, as Newton thought. Space compresses and
clocks tick at different speeds throughout the universe.

Previously, physicists believed in the ether, a mysterious substance that

pervaded the universe and provided the absolute reference frame for all
motions. But experiments to measure the “ether wind” blowing past Earth
found nothing. Even if Earth were by chance motionless at one moment, there
should be a discernible ether.
In desperation to save Newtonian physics, some scientists suggested that the
ether wind had physically compressed the meter sticks in their experiments,
thus explaining the null result. Einstein showed that the ether theory was
unnecessary and that space itself contracts and time slows down as you move
near the speed of light.

The Speed of Light Is Constant

 Time is Relative

Imagine putting one twin on a rocket ship that blasts off at a speed near that
of light while the other twin remains back on Earth.

Through a telescope, the Earth twin sees that his rocket twin appears younger
than himself.

When the rocket twin comes back to Earth,the Earth twin has aged more; the
rocket twin is much younger.

A Relativity Paradox
From the vantage point of the rocket twin as he took off from Earth, it
appeared as if he were at rest and that the Earth moved away from him. Thus,
to him it is the Earth twin who has traveled at great speed and become younger
while the rocket twin has aged. So who really is younger?
Resolution of the twin paradox
The rocket twin, not the Earth twin, reversed directions during his journey.
Since the rocket twin didn’t travel with constant velocity, the two viewpoints
are not the same. Hence, you can tell who is younger: the rocket twin.

Mass is Energy

In Newton ’s world, a meter stick has the same length anywhere in the
universe. In Einstein’s world, meter sticks get shorter the faster they move.
Absolute spaceand distance do not exist.

If space and time become distorted, then everything you measure with meters
and clocks also becomes distorted, including all forms of mass and energy.

It requires only a few lines to calculate how much mass and energy get
distorted. This led Einstein to E = mc2, the most celebrated equation in all of
science. It expresses the relationship between energy (E) and mass (m), linked
by the speed of light (c).

Because c2 is a fantastically large number (34,701,000,000 mi.2/ sec.2 ), a

small amount of mass can be converted into an enormous amount of energy.
When an atom of uranium-235 is split, it loses about 0.1 percent of its mass;
that tiny amount is enough to produce the vast energy of an atomic bomb.
 GENERAL RELATIVITY
Special relativity was incomplete because it made no mention of acceleration or
gravity. Einstein then made the next key observation: Motion under gravity and
motion in an accelerated frame are indistinguishable. Since a light beam will bend in a
rocket that is accelerating, a light beam must also bend under gravity.

To show this, Einstein introduced the concept of curved space. In this interpretation,
planets move around the sun not because of a gravitational pull but because the sun
has warped the space around it, and space itself pushes the planets. Gravity does not
pull you into a chair; space pushes on you, creating the feeling of weight. Space-time
has been replaced by a fabric that can stretch and bend.

General relativity can describe the extreme warping of space caused by the gravity of
a massive dead star—a black hole. When we apply general relativity to the universe as
a whole, one solution naturally describes an expanding cosmos that originated in a
fiery big bang .

If the sun were to disappear suddenly, what would happen? Newton would say
that the entire universe would instantly feel the loss of the sun’s gravity.
Einstein recognized that nothing—not even gravity—can travel faster than light.
Since sunlight takes eight minutes to travel from the sun to Earth, Einstein
believed that it would likewise take eight minutes for Earth to respond to the
sun’s disappearance.
One key to Einstein’s thinking is to analyze a spinning disk. Since the rim of the
disk travels faster than the center of the disk, the theory of relativity states
that the rim is compressed more than the center. If so, the disk must be
distorted (its circumference is no longer pi times its diameter). The surface of
the disk is, in fact, curved.

Einstein showed that space itself could be similarly curved and that curved
space could explain gravity.

Put a bowling ball on a bedsheet and shoot a marble past it. The marble will
move in a curved line. A Newtonian physicist would say that the bowling ball
exerts a “force” that “pulls” on the marble, making it move in a curved line. A
relativist would say that the ball curves the bedsheet and that the bedsheet
“pushes” against the marble.

Now replace the bowling ball with the sun and the marble with Earth. By
analogy, gravity does not pull Earth around the sun. Rather, the sun bends
space around it, and curved space pushes Earth so that it moves around the
sun.

This effect will also bend starlight.

In 1919, during an eclipse of the sun, two expeditions actually measured the
bending of starlight as it passed by the sun, shifting the apparent position of
the stars. This sealed Einstein’s fame.

(If we remove the bowling ball, the fabric springs back to its normal shape and
releases a wave that spreads out. If the sun disappeared, it would take eight
minutes for the analogous gravity waves to reach Earth.)

As it passes by the sun, starlight is bent by the sun’s distortion of space. As a

result, the stars appear to move.
The Big Bang

The entire universe can be regarded as a by-product of curved space and time.
Curved space-time is analogous to the surface of a balloon. If you blew up a
balloon covered with dots, each dot would appear to be speeding away from
the other dots. We seem to live on the surface of a four-dimensional balloon
that is expanding in a similar manner. Our telescopes show galaxies speeding
away from us in all directions.

Black Holes

If a star grows enormously dense, either through collapse or by accumulating

matter, its gravity creates a rip in space-time. The result: a black hole, an
object from which even light cannot escape. Hundreds of black holes have been
detected, many lurking in the centers of galaxies.

Wormholes

Einstein and Nathan Rosen introduced the concept of a “bridge” that might link
to a location on the other side of a black hole. Einstein did not believe a person
could pass through this bridge, since the gravitational forces would be lethal.
 (Since then, solutions have been found in which travel through a wormhole
might be possible, although this is still controversial.)

EINSTEIN’S LEGACY
Three of the seminal papers Einstein wrote in his “miracle year” of 1905 probably
deserved the Nobel Prize. In one paper, he showed that light has a dual nature—that
is, it exhibits both wavelike and particle-like qualities. Einstein’s quantum theory of
light is essential to modern electronics, including television, solar cells, lasers, and
fiber optics.

He was also the first to give solid justification for the existence of atoms. By
analyzing how the random impact of atoms can distort the motion of tiny dust
particles, creating a continuous zigzag motion, he showed a practical way to calculate
the size of atoms.

Einstein’s 1905 paper on special relativity paved the way for a four-dimensional
description of the world. These formulations provide a framework that may ultimately
solve his greatest quest: the search for a “theory of everything” that can unify all the
laws of nature.

Some fault Einstein for opposing quantum mechanics because he believed that “God
does not play dice.” In reality, he did not dispute the undeniable successes of quantum
mechanics. Instead, his true goal was to swallow up quantum mechanics with his
unified field theory.

The Photoelectric Effect

Einstein’s theory gave rise to quantum physics

One common instance of this effect occurs when light enters a television
camera and is focused onto a metal plate. When it hits the plate, the light can
eject an electron. In this way, light is converted into electricity, which is then
used to reconstruct the image in front of the camera.

To explain how light knocks electrons loose, Einstein assumed that light occurs
in packets of energy, now known as quanta.

Thus Einstein not only developed relativity but also helped give birth to
quantum physics, the other great theory of the 20th century. Many of his
predictions concerning quantum theory are still being verified.

Brownian Motion and Atoms

Einstein gave the first credible experimental evidence for atoms

We often forget that just a century ago many scientists, including famed
Austrian physicist and philosopher Ernst Mach, refused to believe in the
existence of atoms. Einstein proved the doubters wrong by explaining
 Brownian motion, the random, jerky movement of microscopic particles.
Einstein showed that the motion is caused by the impact of individual atoms.

By interpreting this chaotic motion, Einstein calculated the size of the atom, a
physics tour de force. He also used his analysis to determine the number of
atoms in a given mass of an element, which reveals an atom’s mass.

The Fourth Dimension

A major legacy of Einstein’s theories is the concept of space-time. Space and time could no
longer be viewed in isolation, because each of them depends on the other.
Space and time were now inseparable.

Since space has three dimensions (length, width, and height), time can be
viewed as the fourth dimension. For example, to arrange a rendezvous with a
friend in Manhattan, you need to give four coordinates: “Meet me on the
northeast corner of 5th Avenue and 42nd Street, on the 30th floor, at one
o’clock.” Relativity introduced the concept of the fourth dimension.

Imagine plotting your location on a graph, with time on the vertical axis and
space on the horizontal axis. The bottom of the graph represents the past, and
the top part represents the future. If you simply sit in one place and do not
move, you trace a vertical line. If you start to move, you trace a vertical line
that curves a bit.

All motions in the universe can similarly be represented as vertical lines that
 wobble a bit as they progress upward in this diagram of space-time.

If you travel at the speed of light, you trace out a diagonal line on a plot of
space versus time. The set of all possible light paths forms a cone. All possible
paths moving at less than light speed trace curves located inside the upper
“light cone” of future events.

If you could go faster than light (which is impossible), then you would leave
the cone. This is purely amathematicalpossibility.

If you could go fast enough, you could hypotheticallyreach the bottom cone,
which represents the past.

Einstein’s Critique of Quantum Theory

Although Einstein felt uncomfortable about the introduction of probability in physics, his
critiques of the quantum theory vastly improved and sharpened its foundations.
 Physicist Erwin Schrödinger conceived a thought experiment in which a
probabilistic event (the decay of an atom) determines whether a cat in a sealed
box lives or dies. Quantum theory says that you do not know what state the cat
is in until you open the box. Before you open the box, the cat is described by
the sum of being alive and dead simultaneously, which Einstein thought was
absurd. Although quantum theory has withstood every test, physicists still
debate the fate of the famous “Schrödinger’s cat,” regarded as being dead and
alive at the same time.

A Unified Field?

The greatest legacy of Einstein’s work may be the unified field theory, which would weave
all the laws of nature into a single coherent theory. He spent the last 30 years of his life
chasing after this theory of everything.

But because little was known about the nuclear force before Einstein’s death, there was a
large missing piece to the jigsaw puzzle. Today the leading unifying candidate is string
theory.

The two great pillars of modern physics, relativity and quantum theory, may
eventually be combined into a single unified field theory, which would
summarize all known physics. Einstein believed that it would allow us to “read
the mind of God.”
 Relativity and You

Textbooks sometimes state that Einstein’s theories do not affect our everyday life, because
we never travel anywhere close to the speed of light. But imagine for a moment what
would happen if we could somehow “turn off” relativity

First, our technology would fail. The Global Positioning System (which locates
our position on Earth to within 50 feet or less) would malfunction, because the
clock on the satellite does not tick at the same speed as Earth clocks. Moreover,
since relativity governs the properties of electricity and
magnetism, all modern electronics would come to a halt, including generators,
computers, radios, and TV.

Without correcting for the effects of relativity, the GPS signals would have
errors of several parts per billion, enough to make them useless.
 Second, Earth would be uninhabitable. The nuclear furnace that drives the sun
and the stars would shut down without relativity. If there were no E = mc2, the
universe would suddenly become black and cold, making life impossible.

Without relativity, Earth would freeze solid.

Third, the atoms in our bodies would collapse. Relativity requires that all
particles spin like tops. This spin prevents multiple electrons from occupying the
same energy state in the atom. Without spin, electrons circling the nucleus
would all fall into the lowest energy state. This means that atoms would no
longer form molecules, and physical reality as we know it would dissolve.

Without relativity, our bodies’ molecules would fall apart.

Michio Kaku, a theoretical physicist at the City University of New York, is the author of
Einstein’s Cosmos and the forthcoming Parallel Worlds.

Nigel Holmes is a graphic designer in Westport, Connecticut,

who has finally learned to understand relativity.