'Spacetime 100 Years Later' Tests Einstein's Theories

Newswise — New Journal of Physics (http://www.njp.org), an open-access research journal covering all of physics, today publishes the third of its three celebratory focus issues in recognition of the 100th anniversary of Albert Einstein's annus mirabilis. 'Spacetime 100 Years Later', edited by Richard Price and Jorge Pullin, collects together reviews from some of the leading exponents working in relativity to provide a glimpse of the current status of what Einstein wrought in 1905, as well as a historical perspective on how ideas about spacetime have evolved since then.

The nature of space and time were obvious in the 19th century, but were wrong. In teaching us this, Einstein started the intellectual revolution that is modern physics. But Einstein's revolutionary spacetime ideas were more important as principles than as practices; the universe seemed to be filled only with objects that could be explained well enough by pre-Einsteinian ideas. This all changed in the 1960s as the advances of technology led to the discovery of ever more exotic astrophysical objects. At the same time, at the forefront of theory, physicists pondering the nature of fundamental particles found themselves looking more and more at the nature of space and time. "Perhaps most remarkable about the breakthroughs in physics that the young Albert Einstein introduced in the annus mirabilis of 1905 was the revision of our ideas of space and time themselves" comment Richard Price and Jorge Pullin. "The revision has become a permanent feature of our understanding of reality and the ensuing rethinking has led to even more outrageous revisions, like the idea of black holes or a universe beginning with a Big Bang."

Now at the turn of the millennium, Einstein's spacetime ideas are more relevant than ever. This volume celebrates this stature and surveys where Einstein's spacetime ideas have led us, with articles on the status of cosmology, on the crucial role that Einstein's ideas play in the new astrophysics, on the exotica of black holes, on the exquisite engineering of gravitational wave detectors, on the daunting puzzle of quantized gravity, and more.

All contributions to this issue are permanently free to read at http://www.njp.org/focus/spacetime.

Notes to editors:

New Journal of Physics is co-owned by the Institute of Physics and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft

The Institute of Physics is a leading international professional body and learned society with over 37,000 members, which promotes the advancement and dissemination of a knowledge of and education in the science of physics, pure and applied. It has a world-wide membership and is a major international player in scientific publishing and electronic dissemination of physics; setting professional standards for physicists and awarding professional qualifications; and promoting physics through scientific conferences, education and science policy advice.