Proving Einstein Right
The Daring Expeditions that Changed How We Look at the Universe
Cathie Pelletier ; S. James Gates Jr.
- A
- thrilling
- adventure
- story
- chronicling
- the
- perilous
- journey
- of
- the
- scientists
- who
- set
- out
- to
- prove
- the
- theory
- of
- relativity--the
- results
- of
- which
- catapulted
- Albert
- Einstein
- to
- fame
- and
- forever
- changed
- our
- understanding
- of
- the
- universe.In
- 1911,
- a
- relatively
- unknown
- physicist
- named
- Albert
- Einstein
- published
- his
- preliminary
- theory
- of
- gravity.
- But
- it
- hadn't
- been
- tested.
- To
- do
- that,
- he
- needed
- a
- photograph
- of
- starlight
- as
- it
- passed
- the
- sun
- during
- a
- total
- solar
- eclipse.
- So
- began
- a
- nearly
- decade-long
- quest
- by
- seven
- determined
- astronomers
- from
- observatories
- in
- four
- countries,
- who
- traveled
- the
- world
- during
- five
- eclipses
- to
- capture
- the
- elusive
- sight.
- Over
- the
- years,
- they
- faced
- thunderstorms,
- the
- ravages
- of
- a
- world
- war,
- lost
- equipment,
- and
- local
- superstitions.
- Finally,
- in
- May
- of
- 1919,
- British
- expeditions
- to
- northern
- Brazil
- and
- the
- island
- of
- Príncipe
- managed
- to
- photograph
- the
- stars,
- confirming
- Einstein's
- theory.At
- its
- heart,
- this
- is
- a
- story
- of
- frustration,
- faith,
- and
- ultimate
- victory--and
- of
- the
- scientists
- whose
- efforts
- helped
- build
- the
- framework
- for
- the
- big
- bang
- theory,
- catapulted
- Einstein
- to
- international
- fame,
- and
- shook
- the
- foundation
- of physics.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
