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  • >> Stephen: WELCOME BACK, EVERYBODY.

  • MY NEXT GUEST IS A PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS AND MATHEMATICS AT

  • COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY AND COFOUNDER OF THE WORLD SCIENCE

  • FESTIVAL.

  • PLEASE WELCOME PROFESSOR BRIAN GREENE.

  • ♪ ♪ ♪ >> THANK YOU, MAN.

  • GOOD DRIVING.

  • >> Stephen: THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE, THANK YOU.

  • ( CHEERS ) HOW DO YOU-- HOW DO YOU LIKE THE

  • SCIENCE MOBILE?

  • >> OH, MAN, WAS THAT THE THE INAUGURAL RUN OF IT.

  • >> Stephen: THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME WE USED THE SCIENCE MOBILE.

  • YOU CAN RENT THAT FOR CONVENTIONS.

  • TELL YOUR SCIENCE FRIENDS.

  • >> I WILL LET THEM ALL KNOW.

  • >> Stephen: IT'S AVAILABLE.

  • YOU ARE HERE NOT ONLY BECAUSE YOU'RE A FASCINATING GUY TO TALK

  • TO-- THANK YOU FOR BEING AT MY LAST SHOW AT THE OLD GIG.

  • >> I LOVED IT.

  • THANK YOU.

  • >> Stephen: BUT, ALSO, THIS IS THE 100th ANNIVERSARY, THIS

  • MONTH, OF EINSTEIN PRESENTING HIS GENERAL THEORY OF

  • RELATIVITY.

  • ALL RIGHT.

  • I KNOW IT'S FAMOUS.

  • OKAY?

  • ( LAUGHTER ) WHY IS IT EPOCH MAKING?

  • WHY DID IT CHANGE EVERYTHING?

  • >> SO WE DID NOT UNDERSTAND HOW THE FORCE OF GRAVITY WORKED

  • BEFORE EINSTEIN GAVE US THE GENERAL THEORY.

  • >> Stephen: DID NEWTON TEACH US THAT GRAVITY COMES FROM

  • APPLES?

  • >> THAT'S WHAT YOU WOULD THINK.

  • ( LAUGHTER ) THAT'S WHAT YOU WOULD THINK.

  • BUT ACTUALLY, WHAT NEWTON GAVE US IS A FORMULA THAT TELLS US

  • THE STRENGTH OF GRAVITY, BUT HE NEVER TOLD US HOW GRAVITY

  • ACTUALLY EXERTS ITS PULL.

  • >> Stephen: DID HE NOT CARE?

  • >> HE CARED.

  • IN FACT IN HIS OWN WRITING HE SAID THAT IT WAS A CRITICAL

  • QUESTION THAT NEEDED TO BE ADDRESSED BUT HE SAID, "I WILL

  • LEAVE IT TO THE CONSIDERATION OF THE READER."

  • HE COULDN'T FIGURE IT OUT.

  • >> Stephen: SO THEN EINSTEIN READ THAT AND SAID, "I GOT THIS

  • ONE.

  • I GOT THIS ONE."

  • >> THAT'S RIGHT, THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.

  • >> Stephen: STAND BACK, GUYS, ALBY IS HERE.

  • SO WHEN DOES SPECIAL RELATIVITY COME OUT?

  • >> 1905.

  • >> Stephen: WHAT IS WHAT YOU CALL ANAS MIRABULOUS.

  • >> RELATIVITY IS THE MOST FAMOUS WHERE HE REDEFINED OUR

  • UNDERSTANDING OF SPACE AND TIME.

  • >> Stephen: IS THAT E.EQUALS MC SQUARED.

  • >> IT WAS AN AFTERTHOUGHT OF THE SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY.

  • >> Stephen: BY THE WAY, E.

  • EQUALS MC SQUARED.

  • >> HE PUBLISHED SPECIAL RELATIVITY AND IN SEPTEMBER HE

  • HAS A LITTLE EXTRA IDEA, WHICH IS E. EQUALS MC SQUARED.

  • >> Stephen: SO THIS IS 10 YEARS LATER.

  • AND HAS HE GOT ANY HITS IN BETWEEN THOSE TWO?

  • >> HE PUBLISHED ENORMOUS NUMBERS OF PAPERS BUT HIS REAL FOCUS,

  • THE PASSION OF HIS LIFE'S WORK, WAS TO FIGURE OUT GRAVITY.

  • >> Stephen: AND HOW DID-- HOW DID IT COME TO HIM THAT-- HOW

  • THIS WORKS?

  • ( LAUGHTER ).

  • >> WELL, YOU KNOW-- >> Stephen: I DON'T EVEN KNOW

  • HOW TO FORM THE QUESTION.

  • >> HE WAS DEEPLY PUZZLED.

  • HOW DOES THE SUN KEEP THE EARTH IN ORBIT?

  • WHAT IS GRAVITY.

  • AND HE'S THINKING ABOUT THIS, THINKING ABOUT THIS.

  • AND ONE DAY IN 1907, HE'S IN THE PATENT OFFICE IN SWITZERLAND

  • WHERE HE WORKED, AND HE HAD WHAT HE CALLED THE HAPPIEST THOUGHT

  • OF HIS LIFE.

  • >> Stephen: WOW.

  • >> AND THE THOUGHT -- >> IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN

  • SAY?

  • >> WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT.

  • I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOUR HAPPIEST THOUGHT, BUT HIS WE WITH TALK

  • ABOUT.

  • ( LAUGHTER ) ( APPLAUSE )

  • SO HE IMAGINES A MAN FALLING FROM THE ROOF OF A HOUSE.

  • ( LAUGHTER ).

  • >> Stephen: HAPPY!

  • YAY!

  • >> AND HE REALIZES THAT THAT MAN WOULD NOT FEEL HIS OWN WEIGHT.

  • HE WOULD FEEL WEIGHTLESS.

  • >> Stephen: IN FREEFALL.

  • >> FREEFALL.

  • HE'S ON A SCALE.

  • AND THE SCALE'S READING WOULD FALL TO ZERO BECAUSE HE'S NO

  • LONGER PUSHING ON THE SCALE.

  • HE'S FALLING WITH IT.

  • >> Stephen: I UNDERSTAND THERE'S AN EXPERIMENT TO

  • DEMONSTRATE THAT.

  • >> YES, A SIMPLE DEMONSTRATION.

  • ( APPLAUSE ).

  • >> Stephen: YEAH!

  • OKAY.

  • DO I HAVE TO DO ANYTHING?

  • >> NO, IT'S VERY SIMPLE.

  • ALL WE HAVE HERE IS A BOTTLE OF WATER THAT HAS HOLES IN IT,

  • RIGHT?

  • SO, OF COURSE, THE WATER IS SPRAYING OUT OF THE HOLES

  • BECAUSE GRAVITY IS PULLING ON THE WATER, RIGHT?

  • >> Stephen: RIGHT.

  • >> BUT IF EINSTEIN IS RIGHT, IF I DROP THIS BOTTLE, THE WATER

  • WILL NO LONGER FEEL GRAVITY, SO THE WATER SHOULD STOP SPRAYING

  • OUT.

  • LET'S SEE IT, THREE, TWO, ONE.

  • >> Stephen: WHOA!

  • ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) WOW.

  • OKAY.

  • NOW, DID EINSTEIN-- DID EINSTEIN HAVE ANY THEATERIES ABOUT WHO'S

  • GOING TO CLEAN THAT UP RIGHT NOW?

  • SO HE SAW, THAT HE THOUGHT OF THAT, AND THEN GENERAL

  • RELATIVITY.

  • >> EIGHT YEARS IN THE MIND OF ALBERT EINSTEIN.

  • >> Stephen: SO HE THINKS ABOUT IT FOR EIGHT YEARS.

  • WHAT'S NEXT?

  • >> THEN HE REALIZES THAT THERE'S A LINK BETWEEN GRAVITY AND

  • MOTION.

  • >> Stephen: LET'S-- WE HAVE ANOTHER EXPERIMENT.

  • >> HE COMES UP WITH THIS IDEA FOR HOW GRAVITY WORKS.

  • THIS IS MEANT TO BE THE FABRIC OF SPACE.

  • >> Stephen: OKAY.

  • IT'S BLARK IT'S BLACK.

  • >> IT'S BLACK, RIGHT, EXACTLY.

  • HE SAYS IF THERE'S NO MATTER, NO ENERGY IN SPACE AND IT'S FLAT

  • WHICH WOULD MEAN IF YOU ROLL SOMETHING-- SAY A PLANET IS

  • MOVING THROUGH SPACE, IT GOES ON A STRAIGHT LINE.

  • BUT NOW LET'S BRING IN THE SUN.

  • THIS IS THE SUN RIGHT HERE.

  • AND HE SAYS IN THE GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY, THAT THE

  • SUN, MERELY BY VIRTUE OF BEING IN SPACE, WARPS THE FABRIC OF

  • SPACE, ACTUALLY AND TIME.

  • AND THAT'S VITAL.

  • >> Stephen: IT MAKES LIKE A >> A WELL IN A SENSE.

  • BECAUSE NOW IF WE TAKE THE EARTH, RIGHT, AND SET IT IN

  • MOTION, IT NOW GOES INTO ORBIT, BECAUSE THE FABRIC OF SPACE IS

  • NUDGING IT AROUND.

  • AND THAT IS, ACCORDING TO EINSTEIN, HOW GRAVITY WORKS.

  • SO IF WE GET THESE GUYS MOVING, ALL OF THESE PLANETS, OBJECTS--

  • I THINK I JUST THREW SOMETHING OFF THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE.

  • ( LAUGHTER ) THIS ACCORDING TO EINSTEIN IS

  • HOW THE FORCE OF GRAVITY ACTUALLY WORKS.

  • WE CAN PUT SOME, LET'S SAY ASTROADSIDE, IN THERE, AND LET

  • THEE GUYS GO IN MOTION.

  • GO CRAZY.

  • GO CRAZY.

  • >> Stephen: DO I HAVE TO GO IN THE SAME DIRECTION?

  • >> IT'S UP TO YOU, MAN.

  • GO NUTS.

  • RIGHT OFF THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE AGAIN!

  • >> Stephen: I THINK I'VE TORN THE FABRIC OF SPACE TIME.

  • >> AND THEN WE HAVE SOME OF THESE GUYS OVER HERE.

  • >> Stephen: WOW.

  • AND THOSE PLANETS ARE ON FIRE?

  • ( LAUGHTER ) >> THERE THEY ARE.

  • >> Stephen: I'VE GOT ONE MORE QUESTION FOR YOU.

  • EVERYBODY ALWAYS SAYS THIS IS-- THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL

  • DEMONSTRATION.

  • EVERYONE ALWAYS SAYS TO GUYS LIKE YOU, "CAN YOU DUMB IT DOWN

  • TO THE LEVEL OF, LIKE, A FIVE-YEAR-OLD?"

  • I WOULD LIKE YOU TO NOT DUMB IT DOWN.

  • I WOULD LIKE YOU TO SAY IT TO ME AS IF I WERE MY AGE, 51, BUT HAD

  • AN ADVANCED DEGREE IN PHYSICS AND HIGH MATHEMATICS.

  • GIVE IT TO ME IN LESS THAN 30 SECONDS, BUT LET ME JUST LEAN

  • INTO MY IGNORANCE OF WHAT YOU'RE SAYING TO ME.

  • >> SO ALBERT EINSTEIN SAYS THAT SPACE TIME IS A FOUR-DIMENSIONAL

  • HOUSES DIFFERENTIAL MANIFOLD ON WHICH A METRIC TENSOR IS IMPOSED

  • THAT SOLVES THE EINSTEIN FIELD EQUATIONS, AND THAT METRIC

  • TENSOR GIVES RISE TO GEODESICS AND OBJECTS NOT EXPERIENCE

  • ANYTHING OTHER FORCE MOVE ALONG THE GEODESICCS DESCRIBED BY THAT

  • METRIC.

  • ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> Stephen: THAT'S-- THAT'S--

  • THAT'S ( BLEEP ) RIGHT THERE!

  • BRIAN GREENE, EVERYBODY.

  • THANK YOU SO MUCH.

  • HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GENERAL RELATIVITY.

  • WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK.

>> Stephen: WELCOME BACK, EVERYBODY.

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