If Einstein wasn't happy with his explanations why were scientists?

Question

It's common knowledge, if you research it, that Einstein wasnt totally convinced about his explanations regarding the universe, he proved that by admitting that his idea's were not compatable with quantum mechanics and his pursuit of a unified field theory, so why did science just decide to base everything upon it?

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Answer 1

because prior to the 1950's, there were a hand full of people in the world who could even begin to understand how the forces of nature manifested themselves, and any ideas that bridged the way for the institutions of academics and science to provide any explanation, created the power base of control, and control is more important then truth to those that reign...
However it has always been challenged and is beginning to change, as the theories of plasma physics and modern cosmology begin to make their way to the masses, just like the ideas of Copernicus and Newton have given way to truth, so shall Einstein!

Answer 2

Well, scientists have not based *everything* on Einstein's ideas. His theory of special relativity has been integrated into all the current theories of particle physics, but it has been found to be very difficult to get his general relativity to fit into a consistent theory with quantum mechanics. But, in spite of this, general relativity is the best theory of gravity that we have right now and quantum mechanics is the best explanation of virtually everything else.

Scientsts don't 'just decide' to agree or disagree with a theory. They test with experiments to see what the universe actually is like. At this pointy, general relativity has withstood every test that has been designed to test it. Similarly, quantum mechanics has withstood every test designed to test it. We have not been able to design a test that simultaneously tests both theories, so we don't know what will happen where the two theories disagree.

Answer 3

As far as i know Einstein was just unhappy about this cosmologic constant he added.
He did it, because he for himself did not want to accept the predictions of his own work.
He had other ideas how the universe should look like.
Scientists now, widely accept the theories cause they did not fail anywhere yet. So they should be a fundamental part of modern science. Obviously Einsteins vision was different and calculations prooved that he was wrong with his own vision.

Science decides to base something on evidence, be it mathematical, or observations, which fit into the mathematics.

If Einstein would have been wrong, we would talk about him like we would about Pope dunnowhat claiming to know the world is flat and has a border where one can fall off.

Answer 4

You're completely wrong. It's well known that quantum is not compatible with relativity. Relativity isn't designed to explain quantum effects - it's designed to explain gravity. And in explaining gravity it is 100% correct, it has been for 100 years, and every single experiement in that time has proved it.

Quantum, for it's part, it 100% correct at explaining subatomic interactions. For the last 100 years every single experiement has proved quantum is correct.

So just because the two theories are incompatible does NOT mean that they're wrong. It means there is a greater underlying structure that NO ONE understands yet. If you're lucky maybe someone will figure it out before you die, but they may not. Regardless, Einstein himself proved his equations blew up in the subatomic region. That doesn't mean he wasn't "happy" with it.

Where do you people dream up these idiotic assumptions, anyway?

Answer 5

Science did not decide to base "everything" upon Relativity.
It just happens that Relativity explained a vast amount about the behavior of the macro universe and gravity that Newtonian physics was utterly unable to. Almost at the same time, the atomic physicists developed quantum mechanics, another immensely powerful tool for explaining the behavior of atomic and smaller particles/waves. The fact that they were not instantly receoncileable to one another does not detract from their respective power to explain or from their immense and groundbreaking scientific importance, as well as their philosophical importance for influencing how scientists (and others) view the world.
Incompleteness in a new theory is a basis for more scientific inquiry, not a reason to throw it in the wastecan!

Answer 6

The thing he was upset with was his "universal constant" which he considered his "greatest blunder" and which may not actually be such a blunder afterall.

He didn't like the idea of "rolling dice" which quantum theory is. And you cannot relate realtivity to quantum theory, because quantum theory has nothing to do with anything but quantum theory. They are trying to marry the two with M-Theory. Einstein laid the foundation for all of modern physics by debunking everything we "knew" about time, space, and gravity.

Answer 7

No, no, you have everything all wrong. When Einstein's relativity papers were published, the great majority of Physicists flatly rejected them. Einstein won the Nobel prize in Physics, but NOT for relativity theory, but instead for his work on the the photo-electric effect and the quantization of electromagnetic radiation. (His relativity theories were considered WAY too wacko to merit a Nobel Prize). Only after decades of study and multiple attempts to disprove his theories failed and failed and failed again did the Physics world finally accept his genius and the real beauty of his relativity work. Even now, NASA is launching a relativity testing satelite to prove or disprove Einstein's relativity theory. Most of us now realize that he was right, despite the wackoness of the theory.

Answer 8

Einstein believed, "God does not role dice." In quantum physics, there is a principle called the uncertainty principle. It says that the more accurately you know the speed of an electron, the less accurately you know the location of it, and vice versa. Einstein and some other physicists wrote the EPR paper which later failed when Alain Aspect carried out the experiment.

Einstein was pretty ignorant in his later years. Einstein read quite a bit of Immanuel Kant's writing and if he read "Logic", that would explain why he believed everything could be explained.

Answer 9

I would guess that an artist is never fully satisfied with his work, his art as it were was mathematics.

That said, no scientist should follow theory alone, it must be tested to be proved.

Answer 10

His work has been improved upon. We know a lot more now than we did 80 years ago.

Newton wasn't entirely right either - but that doesn't mean you won't fall if you jump off a cliff.