The Illimitable Spirit of the Universe!

Augustine Pamplany CST

Einstein’s relativity theory has been an epoch making discovery in the history of physics. This great theory recently passed another test. It was proven that two stars speeding around the big black hole at the core of the Milky Way were behaving exactly the way predicted by the General Relativity. It was reported on June 6, 2017 that for the first time general relativity was really tested around a supermassive black hole. Scientists at the University of California tracked the movements of two stars since 1990 and have been observing them for 19 years. Scientists found that the paths of the stars are perfectly described by Relativity. The principles of general relativity is applicable to massive objects. It was confirmed that there is no need for a fifth hypothetical force other than the four forces of gravity, electromagnetism, strong nuclear and weak nuclear implied by the Relativity.

In 1915 Einstein revealed in his general theory of relativity that gravity is the curvature of the spacetime continuum due to the presence of mass. With Relativity, cosmology – our view of the universe – ushered into a new era. Einstein had an inherent faith in the intrinsic harmony of the universe. Cosmologists are only rediscovering some of the mysterious concepts which Einstein himself had later thought to be wrong. The present day astronomical concepts like dark matter, dark energy, expanding universe, etc., add to the enigma of the universe.

The more scientists study the universe, the more they are amazed at its beauty and depth. As renowned physicist Paul Davies has remarked, “No one who has studied the forces of nature can doubt that the world about us is a manifestation of something very, very clever indeed.” Though Einstein did not have faith in a Personal God, his views are very close to a sort of cosmic mysticism, as he states: “My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. That deeply emotional conviction of the presence of a superior reasoning power, which is revealed in the incomprehensible universe, forms my idea of God… The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.”

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