Today is π day, 3/14, as we reckon dates in the US. On an even geekier level, using the European method of writing the day and then the month (e.g. 14/3), today is, as noted by Bad Astronomy’s Phil Plait, “the sum of 3 consecutive primes (43+47+53), and also of 5 consecutive primes (11+13+17+19+23+29+31).”
Today would have also been Albert Einstein’s 132nd birthday. By coincidence, Pi figures prominently in Einstein’s field equations, “10 equations in Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity which describe the fundamental interaction of gravitation as a result of spacetime being curved by matter and energy.” Heavy stuff, that, but Einstein’s theories are the foundation of the scientific knowledge that has allowed the development of GPS systems (the effects of the satellites’ movement relative to observers on Earth must be accounted for), the gravitational microlensing that allows astronomers to see otherwise unobservably faint or distant objects, and, ahem, nuclear power — amongst many other wonders. Science is badass.
With Japan and nuclear power very much in our minds this week, it’s worth noting what Einstein considered the, “one great mistake in my life… when I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made..”
Unfortunately, the one quote most people remember of Einstein’s, if they know any at all, came from one of his letters in which he said, “I, at any rate, am convinced that He does not throw dice.” This is usually paraphrased as, “God does not play dice,” and taken to indicate that the famous genius held some sort of belief in a God who ordered the universe. This attribution became famous even during Einstein’s own life, causing him to respond publicly, “It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly. If something is in me which can be called religious then it is the unbounded admiration for the structure of the world so far as our science can reveal it.”
Image courtesy of thisisnotporn.net/
