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Albert einstein Quote by A.A. Michelson

“The generalized theory of relativity has furnished still more remarkable results. This considers not only uniform but also accelerated motion. In particular, it is based on the impossibility of distinguishing an acceleration from the gravitation or other force which produces it. Three consequences…” quote by A.A. Michelson
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““The generalized theory of relativity has furnished still more remarkable results. This considers not only uniform but also accelerated motion. In particular, it is based on the impossibility of distinguishing an acceleration from the gravitation or other force which produces it. Three consequences of the theory may be mentioned of which two have been confirmed while the third is still on trial: (1) It gives a correct explanation of the residual motion of forty-three seconds of arc per century of the perihelion of Mercury. (2) It predicts the deviation which a ray of light from a star should experience on passing near a large gravitating body, the sun, namely, 1".7. On Newton's corpuscular theory this should be only half as great. As a result of the measurements of the photographs of the eclipse of 1921 the number found was much nearer to the prediction of Einstein, and was inversely proportional to the distance from the center of the sun, in further confirmation of the theory. (3) The theory predicts a displacement of the solar spectral lines, and it seems that this prediction is also verified.””

A.A. Michelson

About This Quote

Source Scientific paper: 1922, “Tests of General Relativity”

Einstein’s general relativity predicts Mercury’s perihelion, light bending, and gravitational redshift, with varying experimental confirmation.

In simple terms: Relativity explains celestial phenomena, partially confirmed.

Key Takeaway

Study and test scientific theories critically.

Themes

science relativity gravity prediction experiment

Mood

analytical curious

Type

Albert einstein:1 Einstein:1 Gravity:1 Mercury:1 Nobel-laureate:0 Physics:1 Relativity:1 Science:1 Theory:1 Theory-of-relativity:0 Verification:1 Theory Relativity:0 Acceleration Gravitation:0 Generalized Theory:0 Theory Mentioned:0

When to use this quote

  • academic research
  • space exploration
  • theoretical modeling

Key Concepts

physics astronomy history of science

Questions to Reflect On

  • What evidence would confirm the third prediction?
  • How does scientific validation evolve?
A Different Perspective

Some predictions still lack definitive proof.

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