Reinventing Gravity: A Physicist Goes Beyond Einstein | Date: 05 May 2011, 14:50
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Einstein's gravity theory-his general theory of relativity-has served as the basis for a series of astonishing cosmological discoveries. But what if, nonetheless, Einstein got it wrong?
Since the 1930s, physicists have noticed an alarming discrepancy between the universe as we see it and the universe that Einstein's theory of relativity predicts. There just doesn't seem to be enough stuff out there for everything to hang together. Galaxies spin so fast that, based on the amount of visible matter in them, they ought to be flung to pieces, the same way a spinning yo-yo can break its string. Cosmologists tried to solve the problem by positing dark matter-a mysterious, invisible substance that surrounds galaxies, holding the visible matter in place-and particle physicists, attempting to identify the nature of the stuff, have undertaken a slew of experiments to detect it. So far, none have.
Now, John W. Moffat, a physicist at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada, offers a different solution to the problem. The capstone to a storybook career-one that began with a correspondence with Einstein and a conversation with Niels Bohr-Moffat's modified gravity theory, or MOG, can model the movements of the universe without recourse to dark matter, and his work challenging the constancy of the speed of light raises a stark challenge to the usual models of the first half-million years of the universe's existence.
This bold new work, presenting the entirety of Moffat's hypothesis to a general readership for the first time, promises to overturn everything we thought we knew about the origins and evolution of the universe.
While supporting his sick parents, Moffat spent his free time in the library, teaching himself in the course of a year both modern physics and the mathematics needed to work in it. Then, daringly, he wrote a letter to Einstein, identifying problems in one of the great man's papers. A correspondence was struck, but, because Moffat couldn't read German, he would take the letters to his barber to have them translated. The press caught wind of the story, which brought Moffat to the attention of Niels Bohr.With Einstein and Bohr's help, Moffat soon began a doctorate at Cambridge. His first bold stroke had taken him far, and would take him farther, ultimately to point out not just some of Einstein's small mistakes, but to revise his entire theory. Physicists have long known that something is wrong: Einstein's relativity and the theory of quantum mechanics are fundamentally incompatible, which has prompted the last twenty years' work in string theory. But Moffat has identified a bigger problem: not only does Einstein's theory not work in the world of the small, it doesn't seem to work in the world of the very large either.
About the Author
John Moffat is a professor emeritus of physics at the University of Toronto and an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Waterloo and a resident affiliate member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Ontario, Canada. Moffat earned a doctorate in physics at the University of Cambridge.
From Publishers Weekly
Gravity has long been the problem child of physics, creating difficulties in finding a Theory of Everything. To complicate matters, most scientists believe that there is a mysterious, unidentified dark matter that makes up most of the universe, and that an equally baffling dark energy is pushing the universe apart. Moffat, an affiliate member of the cutting-edge Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada, has developed a new theory that he calls Modified Gravity (MOG). Moffat says that both Newton and Einstein were wrong, and that Newton's gravitational constant is not constant across distances as large as galaxies and galaxy clusters. Scientists haven't been able to find dark matter because it doesn't exist: MOG values help account for rates of galaxy rotation. Perhaps more revolutionary is Moffat's claim that black holes don't exist either. His theory predicts a grey star, a massive object with many but not all of the properties of a black hole. Moffat's theory thus far has withstood many objections. If MOG stands the test of time, Moffat will have created a paradigm shift not seen since Newton. Illus. (Oct.)
Review
"At last John Moffat's book is out! The voice of dissent in a sad world where every young scientist is sucking up to the dusty establishment. If you don't want to hear the same old things repeated yet again this is just the book for you. A mind-boggling foray into the odd world of gravity, straight from the mouth of the master heresiarch." (Jooao Magueijo, Professor of Physics, London, UK )
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