Einstein's Theory of Relativity, a cornerstone of modern physics, has been challenged and possibly proven wrong by a team of Australian scientists.

The team of theoretical physicist Paul Davies of Sydney's Macquarie University, and astrophysicists Tamara Davis and Charles Lineweaver from the University of New South Wales, have published their findings in the Aug 8th edition of Nature.

The team proposes that the speed of light actually slows down and doesn't remain constant, as Einstein asserts in his theories. The theory was obtained by collecting data from the study of quasars.

 

from wired.com

see I don't quite get how this would affect Einstein's theory, since it doesn't make any attempt to say what the speed of light is, just that how ever fast you are travelling(and so on), you will always measure it to be the same.

Einstein's theory is based on the speed of light in a vacuum, whatever it is, being constant. This study calls that into question.

oh I know that, but it is only a local theory, it doesn't stipulate that the speed of light (assumed to be in a vacuum) has to be an arbitrary given velocity, just that you will always measure it to be a specific velocity, regardless of your velocity or acceleration. It may have been a different velocity in the past, but right here, right now, you will always measure it to be the same, whatever you are doing.

Originally posted by Radical Edward

oh I know that, but it is only a local theory,

 

Eddy, they are all "only theories"

I know. that's why I included the word 'local'

Einstein only presented the best theory he could come up with. He still had questions and knew there was more to it. He died before he could finish. He never believed it was absolute.

I think he would have enjoyed considering these anomolies.

Just aman