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Last Updated:June 12, 2025, 14:16 IST
A century ago, Einstein believed the universe was static. Modern astronomy reveals it is expanding in all directions with no centre or edge, reshaping our cosmic understanding
Albert Einstein later admitted his belief in a static universe was his “biggest mistake". (News18)
A bold century-old idea by Albert Einstein, that the universe was unchanging, has been spectacularly overturned. Presently, astronomers reveal a cosmos that is continuously expanding, challenging our deepest notions of space and scale.
Albert Einstein’s Static Universe Theory
In 1915, Albert Einstein introduced his general relativity theory, proposing a static universe that neither expands nor contracts, assuming the cosmos had always existed in a fixed state. Yet, this concept was eventually revoked by revolutionary scientific discoveries.
The Expansion Of The Universe
Einstein’s equations did allow for a static universe, but it was not well understood at the time that the same mathematical framework also permitted an expanding one. With the advent of powerful telescopes, astronomers uncovered that the universe is not static but expanding. They observed that galaxies farther away move faster from us, meaning expansion occurs in all directions simultaneously, without a centre or boundary.
This defies everyday notions of space, which rely on centres and edges, concepts that simply do not apply on a cosmic scale. Even Einstein could not have imagined such vastness.
To visualise this expanion, imagine the surface of an inflating balloon. Every point on the surface moves away from every other point as the balloon expands, yet there is no central point on the surface itself. Likewise, the universe expands uniformly without a central origin.
The Illusion Of Explosion
Commonly, people imagine the universe’s expansion as a firecracker exploding from a single point. However, scientifically, the universe expands everywhere simultaneously, not from any one centre.
Interestingly, despite this expansion, the universe has no edge. Like moving endlessly along the surface of a balloon without ever reaching a boundary, there is no cosmic limit to space.
Albert Einstein’s Admission
Einstein later admitted his belief in a static universe was his “biggest mistake". To maintain a stable cosmos, he had introduced a “cosmological constant" into his equations, but subsequent observations revealed that the universe is indeed expanding.
Location :Australia
First Published:News world Einstein Was Wrong: Scientists Prove The Universe Is Expanding With No Edge Or Centre
