Scientists study Einstein's 'big blunder'

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- A U.S.-led international team of scientists has reported preliminary evidence consistent with Einstein's disavowed theory of a force that opposes gravity.

In 1917, Einstein proposed a cosmological constant -- a force opposing gravity -- to explain why the universe does not collapse under the force of gravity. At the time, Einstein and other scientists believed the universe was static.

In 1929, when Edwin Hubble discovered the universe was actually expanding, Einstein disavowed his theory of a force opposing ravity, calling it his biggest blunder.

But now Texas A&M researchers Nicholas Suntzeff and Kevin Krisciunas, along with other scientists, have used a telescope in Chile to discover and examine 200 supernovae. They determined the distance of each supernova from Earth, and how quickly it is accelerating away from Earth.

The scientists then used the acceleration values to calculate a statistic called the w-parameter. If Einstein's theory is correct, the w-parameter must equal minus one. The preliminary statistic the scientists calculated from their observations is minus one -- plus or minus 10 percent error.

That calculation, if confirmed by subsequent observations, would be consistent with the theory first proposed and then rejected by Einstein.

The final results are expected late next year.