Einstein's biggest mistake

Albert Einstein once proposed the cosmological constant and firmly believed that the universe was always static, disregarding the opinions of other scientists .

Scientist Albert Einstein in 1947. Photo: Wikimedia — Scientist Albert Einstein in 1947. Photo: *Wikimedia*

Albert Einstein was a great scientist, but he made mistakes like anyone else. For him, his biggest scientific mistake was "wanting the universe to stand still." This view once prompted Einstein to revise his equations, but he was wrong to do so, IFL Science reported on June 16.

In 1915, Einstein published his general theory of relativity, far surpassing the limitations of his special theory of relativity. It became a comprehensive theory of gravity, explaining not only this universe but also many other universes. However, in the description of gravity he wrote for the universe as we know it, he noticed a problem.

Einstein and most scientists at the time believed that the universe was static: it had always been the same and would never change, at least on a large scale. The Milky Way galaxy had always been the same and would never change.

But when numbers were added to the equation to make the Milky Way eternal, something extraordinary happened. Everything ended up at the same point, collapsing into a black hole (black holes also appeared in equations, but were not observable at the time). The Milky Way wasn't actually collapsing, so to resolve the philosophical conflict, Einstein added a parameter to the equation: the cosmological constant.

The cosmological constant has no observable proof other than the fact that things are not collapsing at a single point. However, in physics, it is not unprecedented to propose the existence of something before it can be observed.

When creating a physical parameter tied to something that might not exist, perhaps the author should have been open to suggestions and corrections. However, Einstein was quite sensitive to being questioned about it. He criticized and repeatedly insulted scientists when they pointed out that Einstein's own theories and observations were beginning to contradict the cosmological constant. Within two decades, the prevailing consensus had overwhelmed Einstein, so he decided to abandon the cosmological constant, calling it his "greatest mistake."

However, the story doesn't end there. In 1998, astronomers discovered that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. The invisible and mysterious driving force is called dark energy. And the best way to describe it currently in the equations of general relativity is a cosmological constant. Although different from the parameter Einstein proposed, it is still a cosmological constant. It's possible that in the future, scientists will discover that dark energy isn't what they thought it was, and the equations will be altered, but these mistakes will open the door for humanity to explore space.

Thu Thao (According to IFL Science )

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