Cracking the Einstein Code

by Melia, Fulvio

• ISBN13: 9780226519517
• ISBN10: 0226519511
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-10-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity describes the effect of gravitation on the shape of space and the flow of time. But for more than four decades after its publication, the theory remained largely a curiosity for scientists; however accurate it seemed, Einstein's mathematical coderepresented by six interlocking equationswas one of the most difficult to crack in all of science. That is, until a twenty-nine-year-old Cambridge graduate solved the great riddle in 1963. Roy Kerr's solution emerged coincidentally with the discovery of black holes that same year and provided fertile testing groundat long lastfor general relativity. Today, scientists routinely cite the Kerr solution, but even among specialists, few know the story of how Kerr cracked Einstein's code. Fulvio Melia here offers an eyewitness account of the events leading up to Kerr's great discovery.Cracking the Einstein Codevividly describes how luminaries such as Karl Schwarzschild, David Hilbert, and Emmy Noether set the stage for the Kerr solution; how Kerr came to make his breakthrough; and how scientists such as Roger Penrose, Kip Thorne, and Stephen Hawking used the accomplishment to refine and expand modern astronomy and physics. Today more than 300 million supermassive black holes are suspected of anchoring their host galaxies across the cosmos, and the Kerr solution is what astronomers and astrophysicists use to describe much of their behavior. By unmasking the history behind the search for a real world solution to Einstein's field equations, Melia offers a first-hand account of an important but untold story. Sometimes dramatic, often exhilarating, but always attuned to the human element,Cracking the Einstein Codeis ultimately a showcase of how important science gets done.

Author Biography

Fulvio Melia is professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Arizona and author of numerous books, including, most recently, The Galactic Supermassive Black Hole.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Einstein's Code	p. 1
Space and Time	p. 5
Gravity	p. 15
Four Pillars and a Prayer	p. 24
An Unbreakable Code	p. 39
Roy Kerr	p. 54
The Kerr Solution	p. 69
Black Hole	p. 82
The Tower	p. 100
New Zealand	p. 105
Kerr in the Cosmos	p. 111
Future Breakthrough	p. 121
Afterword	p. 125
References	p. 129
Index	p. 133
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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