How did Einstein know the properties of space and time

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on how Albert Einstein developed his theories regarding the properties of space and time, including concepts such as time dilation, relativity, and energy-matter equivalence. Participants explore whether these ideas were derived purely through theoretical reasoning or if they were influenced by empirical experiments and the work of other physicists.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question whether Einstein's insights were solely theoretical, suggesting that he may not have conducted experiments himself.
  • Others propose that Einstein's work was heavily influenced by established physics and mathematics, particularly referencing Maxwell's Equations.
  • A participant notes that Einstein built upon the work of others, such as Hendrik Lorentz, and highlights the role of empirical evidence in the development of special relativity.
  • It is suggested that Einstein's reasoning involved creating models of reality and testing them against empirically validated theories.
  • Some participants express fascination with the idea that significant theoretical advancements can arise from mental calculations, drawing a parallel to Stephen Hawking's work.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the extent of Einstein's originality versus his reliance on prior work. There is no consensus on whether his contributions were primarily theoretical or if they were informed by empirical experimentation.

Contextual Notes

Some claims depend on interpretations of historical contributions and the nature of theoretical versus experimental physics. The discussion does not resolve the complexities surrounding the development of Einstein's theories.

Niaboc67
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How did he figure out the many properties of the Universe such as time dilation/relativity and energy matter equivalence and his numerous other contributions. This might be a dumb question but was this all just done on paper? I don't recall reading that Einstein ever conducted experiments. Therefore, was it really just held in his mind and a pad of paper?
 
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Niaboc67 said:
How did he figure out the many properties of the Universe such as time dilation/relativity and energy matter equivalence and his numerous other contributions. This might be a dumb question but was this all just done on paper? I don't recall reading that Einstein ever conducted experiments. Therefore, was it really just held in his mind and a pad of paper?

He had an amazing intuitive grasp of complex topics and did not himself do experiments (as far as I know) BUT much of his work was based on physics and math that had been tested empirically (particularly Maxwell's Equations) so I don't think your question has as simple an answer as you might like.
 
He was going off others work which was proven and then used those to formulate greater ideas of the Universe? Fascinating how this was all in his head. Even more so with someone like Stephen Hawkins, where it is truly mental calculations of the Universe.
 
By thinking about it a lot, thinking of possible models of reality, testing the models against empirically 'proven' models of reality to see if they make sense.
 
Einstein did a lot, but he didn't come up with everything himself. The math for special relativity mostly comes from Hendrik Lorentz' aether theory, which he developed to explain the null result of the Michelson-Morley experiment. So SR certainly has a basis in the MM experiment. GR, though, was pretty much all Einstein just reasoning it out, and was developed before the confirmation via Mercury precession measurements.
 

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