Attack on great pillar of physics
5 Jun 2009 by Evoluted New Media
A new paper by a UK academic attempts to slay two giants in one claiming that the Large Hadron Collider didn\'t work not because of mechanical failure, but because basic theories of physics may be wrong.
A new paper by a UK academic attempts to slay two giants in one claiming that the Large Hadron Collider didn't work not because of mechanical failure, but because basic theories of physics may be wrong.
Dr Peter Hayes of the University of Sunderland said: “Theoretical physicists have been barking up the wrong tree for the last hundred years - because Albert Einstein's theory of relativity is inconsistent.
“Over the years many people have pointed out that there are logical flaws in the theory. Back in the 1960s Professor Herbert Dingle warned that large scale experiments drawing on relativity theory might end by destroying the world. Perhaps we are lucky that the Large Hadron Collider merely broke down!”
Perhaps tellingly Dr Peter Hayes is senior lecturer in politics - not physics. In his latest paper he argues that Albert Einstein's theory of relativity - perhaps the most famous scientific theory in history - should be viewed as an ideology, not as a science. He argues that its impact on popular culture and science has been so influential precisely because as a scientific theory it doesn't actually make sense.
"Precisely because Einstein's theory is inconsistent, its supporters have drawn on contradictory principles in a way that greatly expanded their apparent ability to explain the universe.
"Most crazes die out when it becomes obvious that they were overblown. The amazing thing about Einstein's theory of relativity is that it has kept going. It is built on contradictions, but these very contradictions means that almost anything ‘proves' that it is right. It is a bit like a theory where you say 1 + 1 = 2, but also that 1+ 1 = 3."
Hayes is quick to point out that describing relativity theory as an ideology, rather than a science, is the same as saying that the theory is worthless.
“Marxism is an ideology, not a science, but Karl Marx still gives valuable insights into the workings of capitalism. Once relativity theory is understood for what it is, an ideology, we can better understand where Einstein's theory of relativity can offer insights for science, and where it can't.”
