Essay Katherine Freese on how relativity rejuvenated her career March 10, 2020 Katherine Freese is director of Nordita, the Nordic Institute for Theoretical Physics, in Stockholm, and author of The Cosmic Cocktail, which tells of the epic quest to solve one of the most compelling enigmas of modern science鈥攚hat is the universe made of? This is the story of how one of today鈥檚 foremost pioneers in the study of dark matter came back from the brink of burnout because of Relativity. Read More
Essay Was Einstein the first to discover general relativity? March 09, 2020 On November 25, 1915, Einstein submitted one of the most remarkable scientific papers of the twentieth century to the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin. The paper presented the final form of what are called the Einstein Equations, the field equations of gravity which underpin Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Read More
Interview Dan Hooper on rethinking our universe鈥檚 first moments November 18, 2019 Over the past century, cosmologists have pieced together a remarkably detailed picture of our universe and its history, spanning from the first seconds that followed the Big Bang up to the present. Read More
Interview Sonia Contera on Nano Comes to Life November 01, 2019 Nano Comes to Life聽opens a window onto the nanoscale鈥攖he infinitesimal realm of proteins and聽DNA聽where physics and cellular and molecular biology meet鈥攁nd introduces readers to the rapidly evolving nanotechnologies that are allowing us to manipulate the very building blocks of life. Read More
Essay Searching for Spirit in Science Publishing September 19, 2019 Not long ago, I read an article in Scientific American about the power of words and how language shapes the brain. The article, written by a young Japanese postdoc in neuroscience, begins by invoking the Japanese word, kotodama, which can be translated to mean, literally, 鈥渨ord spirit.鈥� Read More
Essay Getting outside when day turns to night May 29, 2019 What鈥檚 the best way to commemorate a historic scientific experiment? Centenaries are popular, and one of the biggest is upcoming, the centenary of the 1919 eclipse observations that confirmed Einstein鈥檚 theory of general relativity. Read More
Interview Daniel Kennefick on No Shadow of a Doubt May 01, 2019 In 1919, British scientists led extraordinary expeditions to Brazil and Africa to test Albert Einstein鈥檚 revolutionary new theory of general relativity in what became the century鈥檚 most celebrated scientific experiment. The result ushered in a new era and made Einstein a global celebrity by confirming his dramatic prediction that the path of light rays would be bent by gravity. Read More
Interview William R. Newman on Newton the Alchemist November 07, 2018 When Isaac Newton鈥檚 alchemical papers surfaced at a Sotheby鈥檚 auction in 1936, the quantity and seeming incoherence of the manuscripts were shocking. Read More
Interview Martin Rees on On the Future October 01, 2018 Humanity has reached a critical moment. Our world is unsettled and rapidly changing, and we face existential risks over the next century. Various prospects for the future鈥攇ood and bad鈥攁re possible. Read More
Essay Feynman on the historic debate betweenEinstein & Bohr November 01, 2015 The golden age of quantum theory put many of the greatest minds of the 20th century in contact with some of the most significant scientific and philosophical questions of their era. Richard Feynman and Albert Einstein, two towering geniuses of their time, were both as revered for their scientific contributions as they were beloved for their bursts of wisdom on a wide range of subjects. Read More
Essay Washington Post highlights historic clash between Einstein and Bergson on the nature of time August 19, 2015 With the 100th anniversary of the general theory of relativity coming up in November (2015), Einstein is popping up everywhere. The Washington Post ran a terrific feature on Einstein books, including three of our own: Hanoch Gutfreund and聽J眉rgen Renn鈥檚 The Road to Relativity, Einstein's Relativity: The Special and the General Theory, and Jimena Canales鈥檚 The Physicist and the Philosopher. Read More
