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Sir Isaac Newton
Einstein is perhaps most famous for his equation E = mc2. Once an unknown clerk in the Swiss patent office, Einstein first came to be known among the scientific community by writing a paper in 1905 that stated there was no need for the idea of an ether that filled the universe as long as one accepted that time is not absolute. His became the theory of relativity—i.e. the notion that the laws of physics and speed of light are the same for all observers. He also put forward the theory of a cosmological constant, a sort of anti-gravity force which would hold the universe in place, but Edwin Hubble’s later discovery the universe is expanding overrode the need for this to make general relativity work. Einstein later called the cosmological constant the greatest mistake of his life. He was also an opponent of quantum mechanics, as he disagreed with the uncertainty principle. In 1935 he worked with Nathan Rosen on the idea of wormholes, called Einstein-Rosen bridges.
Albert Einstein Quotes in A Brief History of Time
The A Brief History of Time quotes below are all either spoken by Albert Einstein or refer to Albert Einstein. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
It is an interesting reflection on the general climate of thought before the twentieth century that no one had suggested that the universe was expanding or contracting. [...] this may have been due to people’s tendency to believe in eternal truths, as well as the comfort they found in the thought that even though they may grow old and die, the universe is eternal and unchanging.
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Chapter 6
Quotes
The hostility of other scientists, particularly Eddington, his former teacher and the leading authority on the structure of stars, persuaded Chandrasekhar to abandon this line of work […] However, when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1983, it was […] for his early work on the limiting mass of cold stars.
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Albert Einstein Quotes in A Brief History of Time
The A Brief History of Time quotes below are all either spoken by Albert Einstein or refer to Albert Einstein. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
It is an interesting reflection on the general climate of thought before the twentieth century that no one had suggested that the universe was expanding or contracting. [...] this may have been due to people’s tendency to believe in eternal truths, as well as the comfort they found in the thought that even though they may grow old and die, the universe is eternal and unchanging.
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Chapter 6
Quotes
The hostility of other scientists, particularly Eddington, his former teacher and the leading authority on the structure of stars, persuaded Chandrasekhar to abandon this line of work […] However, when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1983, it was […] for his early work on the limiting mass of cold stars.
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