Gravity Probe B

Gravity Probe B was launched in 2004

BBC science news Jonathan Amos gives an excellent description of this amazing project with the title "Gravity Probe B confirms Einstein effects".

Not only is the subject esoteric, the impact of large objects like planet Earth on space-time continuity, but the tools created for this impressive physical experiment are absolutely amazing. Humans build better tools for more accurate observation - but this approaches the ridiculous - measuring axis shifts in perfectly spherical quartz gyroscopes coated with niobium and swimming in super-fluid helium in giant vacuum flask at almost absolute zero temperature. What a feat of engineering!

I quote from the article: "A milliarcsecond is the width of a human hair seen at a distance of 10 miles. It really is a rather small angle, and this is the accuracy Gravity Probe B had to achieve," explained Professor Everitt.

"For the geodetic effect, the predicted relativity effect is 6,606.1 of these milliarcseconds, and the measured result is [to within] a little over a quarter of a percent of that. The frame-dragging we've measured to a little better than 20%."

To be honest - I have never even heard about milliarcsecond before reading about this.

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From theological point of view this amazing feast of measuring changes in space-time continuum and thereby giving credence to Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity focuses our attention to two things, humans and God of Israel.

When Einstein published his theory in 1916 the best tools for observations of such cosmic things was the 100 inch Hooker and other telescopes at Mt Wilson Observatory. (He actually went there to have a chat with Edwin Hubble.) There was no space travel, no CERN and not accelerators and nothing. T-Ford had been released 1908 and was already a great commercial success. First World War was about to start next year but no human on this planet knew what it would turn out to be.

So?

Einstein effect is not the direct result of anykind of empirical research. It is the product of a brilliant human mind figuring out matters of cosmic importance. Of course there is preceding research, there are previous experiments, much learning, theories and counter-theories.

But the fact is that Einstein effect was figured out by a single person in his mind. By thinking and searching for beautiful explanations.

Well, that sounds more like praising the human mind.

Theology?

If such things can be understood by thinking - and we have the fabulous examples of Leucippus and Demoritus before Einstein with even less concrete evidence to help the mind - so why it is so difficult to accept that everything has been made by someone thinking, someone slightly deeper and more original than Einstein?

Is it because God is hidden and cannot be studied by scientific methods?

Actually, Bible does not say that God created the word by "thinking" but a step forward from this, by "saying" - and God said, let there be light.

We would not know anything about what was moving in Einstein's head if he did not say it in English or German or some other humanly understood language.

The language of creation seems to be superior mathematics, but not only that.


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back to the celebrated experiment with gravity - I quote:

"If Einstein had been wrong in his ideas then the gyros should have spun unperturbed.

But given the physicist has taught us that local space-time around the Earth is curved and frame-dragging then a deviation in their behaviour ought to be expected and measurable - albeit with great difficulty.

Over the course of a year, the anticipated drift in the spin axes of the balls due to the geodetic effect was calculated to reveal itself on the scale of just a few thousand milliarcseconds. The frame-dragging effect was predicted to be even smaller."

Jonathan Amos BBC science news