For a pessimist, I'm pretty optimistic

martes, 3 de julio de 2012

Arthur Eddington: Pick up the tablecloth. 
[Winnie and Frank hold up the tablecloth
Arthur Eddington: Space. The tablecloth is space... 
[Holds up a round loaf of bread
Arthur Eddington: The sun. 
[Drops it in the middle of the stretched tablecloth
Arthur Eddington: What's happening? 
Winnie Eddington: What? 
Arthur Eddington: What's happening with the sun in space? 
Winnie Eddington: Well, the bread is sinking into the tablecloth. 
Frank Dyson: The sun makes a shape around it in space. 
Arthur Eddington: Yes. Now, what happens if I do this? 
[Tosses an apple into the tablecloth; apple makes an oval around the bread
Arthur Eddington: It *wants* to travel in a straight line, but it can't. Why not? 
Winnie Eddington: Because the bread is making a shape. 
Frank Dyson: The apple follows the curves made in space. 
Arthur Eddington: Yes. Yes, space is shaped. And *that* is how gravity works. Space tells objects how to move. Objects tell space what shape to be. And there's a way to prove it.