Post #2051838
2026-05-04 23:22 UTC
🧵 Eddington's observations famously confirmed Einstein's prediction of the gravitational deflection of starlight passing near the sun.
This was a major step in the acceptance of General Relativity (GR).
So it might surprise some to hear that Newton had thought about this a lot earlier! 1/9
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddington_experiment
#Physics #Relativity
Replies (1)
-
@level98@mastodon.social 2026-05-04 23:22
Newton thought about light being bent by gravity, WAY before Einstein. In his 1704 book "Opticks" he writes: "Do not Bodies act upon Light at a distance, and by their action bend its Rays; and is not that action (caeteris paribus) strongest at the least distance?" AND then comes Cavendish. 2/9