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New Theory of Gravity Decouples Space & Time

eldavojohn writes "Petr Horava, a physicist at the University of California in Berkeley, has a new theory about gravity and spacetime. At high energies, it actually snips any ties between space and time, yet at low energies devolves to equivalence with the theory of General Relativity, which binds them together. The theory is gaining popularity with physicists because it fits some observations better than Einstein's or Newton's solutions. It better predicts the movement of the planets (in an idealized case) and has a potential to create the illusion of dark matter. Another physicist calculated that under Horava Gravity, our universe would experience not a Big Bang but a Big Bounce — and the new theory reproduces the ripples from such an event in a way that matches measurements of the cosmic microwave background."

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  1. Re:And FTL, too by PuckSR · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Actually, HE DID!

    He added the cosmological constant to his general theory of relativity, because if he followed his models...it indicated that the universe was expanding.
    Einstein didn't like the idea that it was expanding(because it didn't fit the current thinking), so he added the cosmological constant to his equations to make the universe "static".

    so, even Einstein fell prey to conventional wisdom and thinking.