EinsteinFest - 2005

In honour of the hundredth anniversary of Einstein\'s \'miraculous year\', I will describe the modern view of space and time. I will start with special relativity, then describe how space and time are modified in Einstein\'s general theory of relativity, and end with recent ideas coming out of string theory. In all cases, the view of space and time arising from modern physics is radically different from our everyday experience, yet many of their strange properties have already been confirmed by experiment. Einstein, space, time, general relativity, special relativity, string theory, dimension, simultaneity, gravity, black hole, singularity, big bang, space-time

Howard Burton, John Stachel, Artur Ekert, Gary Horowitz, unifying, quantum field theory, superstring theory, unification, symmetry of nature, electromagnetism, gravity, Einstein, quantum, many worlds, quantum mechanics, Higgs particle,supersymmetry, quantum computers

It is well known that Einstein worked to develop a unified field theory that would encompass all of physics including (he hoped) all quantum phenomena. It is not so well known that there was \'another Einstein,\' who from 1916 on was skeptical about the continuum as a foundational element in physics, especially because of the existence of quantum phenomena. This talk will discuss the evidence for the existence of \'the other Einstein\' and his efforts to find what he called \'a purely algebraic physics.\' John Stachel, Einstein, quantum phenomena, other Einstein, unity nature, field theory, variable contra field theory, space, time, quantum gravity, biography, continuous, discrete

Could the laws of physics change? The laws of physics are usually meant to be set in stone; variability is not usually part of physics. Yet contradicting Einstein\'s tenet of the constancy of the speed of light raises nothing less than that possibility. I will discuss some of the more dramatic implications of a varying speed of light. Joao Magueijo, Theory of Relativity, speed of light, VSL, varying speed of light, Dirac, cosmology, geometry, dimensional, dimensionless, Bekenstein, Brans-Dicke, varying constant, Einstein, time dilation, length contraction, horizons, Big Bang, grand-unified theory, Planck length, Planck time, gravity, space, time, quantum gravity, varying alpha, Kelvin, quasar, laws of physics

Howard Burton, the Executive Director and chief architect of Perimeter Institute, describes the process and pitfalls of constructing a home for budding Einsteins from scratch in Waterloo. Einstein factory, Howard Burton, Perimeter Institute, Einstein, sociological factors, Mike Lazardis, IAS, research, culture, making a difference, government support,

The most important scientist of the twentieth century, and its most important artist, went through their periods of greatest creativity almost simultaneously and in remarkably similar circumstances: Einstein\'s special theory of relativity and Picasso\'s Les Demoiselles d\'Avignon. It turns out they were both working on the same problem: the nature of space and time and, more particularly, simultaneity. When they produced these astonishing works, Einstein and Picasso were not the distinguished elderly figures that later became so familiar: they were in their twenties, unknown, feisty, dirt-poor, and prone to getting into trouble - their personal and creative beauty caused havoc. Arthur Miller, Einstein, Picasso, Les Demoisselle D\'Avignon, Arts, science, biography, special relativity, space, time, simultaneity,

Although Einstein emerged as a leading spokesman for pacifism in 1930, his political views already underwent a major shift even before Hitler came to power in January 1933. Disappointment with negotiations at the 1932 Disarmament Conference in Geneva led him to the conclusion that the only hope of averting a major war was the creation of a strong world government. Only after the Second World War did he have the opportunity to promote this political cause, however, partly by taking advantage of his event image as “grandfather of the bomb.” Though he in fact played no significant part in the events that led up to the Manhattan project, in the wake of Hiroshima he became an active spokesman calling for control of nuclear weapons through the creation of an international organization that would serve as a stepping stone to world government. David Rowe, politics, world government, pacifists, Hiroshima, Anatomy of Peace,

Two of the greatest geniuses of the twentieth century, Albert Einstein and Kurt Gödel, were colleagues in Princeton during the years 1940-55. This talk will explore the contrasting personalities, revolutionary results, consonant world views, and confluent interests in the nature of time that underlay their bond of friendship. John W Dawson, Einstein, genius, Godel, Institute for Advanced Study, friendship,

Before 1919 Einstein’s political and social interests lay fallow, their moral roots unarticulated. This talk argues that it was his search for Jewish identity as a forty-year old in the years after World War I, as well as his growing commitment to Zionism, that laid the foundation for his active political engagement. We will examine the trajectory of Einstein’s ambiguous relationship with Judaism and Jewish settlement in Palestine from 1919 until the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. Einstein’s views over this 30-year period will be set in the context of the tragic interweaving of Hitler’s absolute rule in Germany and the destruction of European Jews. Einstein, Robert Schulmann, Zionism, politics, history, biography, Judaism, Jewish, Germany

This talk will examine the critical period in European concert music in the years around 1900, when the first generation of modernists--including Schoenberg, Mahler, Bartok, Debussy, and Stravinsky--were forging new musical languages. These composers were not revolutionaries. All remained deeply attached to their musical pasts, to traditions of tonality, syntax, and form. But each was able to re-imagine in a unique fashion the legacies of the nineteenth century to create powerful music fully characteristic of the dawning century. Walter Frisch, Romanticism, modernism, music, music, Einstein, tone colours, Strauss, Godowsky, Schoenberg, Strauss, folk music, Puccini