Back in 1919 a famed British astronomer, knighted for his deeds, embarked upon a journey to prove Einstein's Theory of Relativity.
At the time his conclusions were published, it was a major news story around the globe. According to Wikipedia, when asked by a reporter whether he was one of only three people in the world who understood relativity theory, he quipped "Who's the third?"
Sir Arthur S
tanley Eddington took two teams of scientists to spots on the equator to measure the bending of light from stars during a solar eclipse. This would prove Einstein's theory of relativity, that asserts that gravity is the result of a distortion of space-time by massive objects. Even light cannot ignore this rule of space, so the theory predicts that light rays from distant stars should bend slightly as they skim past the Sun. When blotted out during a total solar eclipse, the bending should be visible, or so thought Eddington.
tanley Eddington took two teams of scientists to spots on the equator to measure the bending of light from stars during a solar eclipse. This would prove Einstein's theory of relativity, that asserts that gravity is the result of a distortion of space-time by massive objects. Even light cannot ignore this rule of space, so the theory predicts that light rays from distant stars should bend slightly as they skim past the Sun. When blotted out during a total solar eclipse, the bending should be visible, or so thought Eddington.At the time his conclusions were published, it was a major news story around the globe. According to Wikipedia, when asked by a reporter whether he was one of only three people in the world who understood relativity theory, he quipped "Who's the third?"
His measurements proved Einstein's theory correct: but ever after, people have spent time dismissing his "proof" and claiming that Eddington wanted Einstein to be correct (for several reasons, including political ones) and therefore over-interpreted his findings to come to the conclusion that he wanted.
Today, researchers have found that Eddington is, indeed, correct and that he did not bend his data to find the conclusion that he wanted. Which goes to show, science is not infallible and we all must learn and re-learn the same lessons again. While he was alive, however, his theories were constantly being challenged and he was discredited in a couple of different ways. He died in 1944 in Cambridge, England.
This week's story in Nature vindicates an honorable man. You see, Sir Arthur Eddington wasn't just a British astrophysicist from another era, he was also a cousin to my husband's grandmother (Minnie Shout Wilmott). Eddington met once with David's mother, Mary Wilmott, at Cornell where they walked the Gorges together. David reports that his mother always told him that he was a fascinating man, a Quaker, and a deeply ethical human being. It means a lot to David to see this week's story vindicating his distant cousin's work.
And now we know where David got the astrophysicist gene from!
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