I recently spoke with an engineer who, during a physics course, had not mastered the theory of relativity. For some ideological reasons, he categorically denied it. After all his arguments were clearly refuted, he pulled out his "last trump card." With a triumphant air, he said, "Why should I listen to you if Nikola Tesla himself considered the theory of relativity to be wrong!"
Nikola Tesla in 1890.
Yes, indeed, if a person does not want to listen to me, I do not insist, but still in this article I will tell you about why Nikola Tesla did not accept the theory of relativity.
The main reason is that Tesla was a man of his day. He was an electrical engineer. The theory of the ether, which existed in the 19th century, was completely suitable for all problems that were of interest to Tesla. In addition, the ether theory was (like all physics before Einstein), quite intuitive. Those. everything worked in it as common sense suggests.
In fact, the non-intuitiveness of the theory of relativity is the main reason why many did not accept the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. In relativity and quantum mechanics, intuition and common sense based on everyday experience do not work. In these areas of physics, equations reign. If common sense tells you one thing and solutions to equations another, you need to trust the equations.
Tesla was never able to accept this. However, unfortunately for Tesla and all the other deniers of the theory of relativity, the calculations made on the basis of the equations of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics agree perfectly with the results of observations and experiments. Relativistic formulas are used in a wide variety of technologies, from spacecraft to GPS in your mobile phone.
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Why was Tesla unable to accept the theory of relativity?
On this topic, you can theorize as much as you like, especially since Tesla was a very reserved person and little is known about how deeply he delved into it, but the most probable for me is a very simple answer.
Albert Einstein giving a lecture, 1921.
Tesla could not accept the theory of relativity simply because he could not understand it. By understand in this case, I mean the entire mathematical apparatus that stands behind this theory.
When Tesla studied at the Graz Technical University there, in principle, neither tensor calculus, nor Riemannian manifolds, nor other branches of mathematics were extremely important for understanding the theory of relativity.
Moreover, these branches of mathematics could not be needed by Tesla in his work on inventions in the field of electricity, so the likelihood that before the appearance of the theory of relativity Tesla could be familiar with the necessary mathematical apparatus is extremely small. At the same time, at the time of publication of the general theory of relativity, Tesla was for a minute - 60 years old.
The basic equation of general relativity. Somewhere around here Tesla seems to have given up.
In my opinion, Tesla's attitude to the theory of relativity can be characterized as: “I am very smart. If I could not understand it, then this is nonsense. In other words, he simply did not master it.
Yes, now Tesla has the status of a cult hero. His achievements in the field of practical electromechanics are undeniable and respectable, and they have changed the entire electrical industry in many ways.
However, for all his remarkable engineering achievements, Tesla was a very mediocre scientist. Tesla's only contribution to physics is that the unit for measuring the induction of a magnetic field was named after him. In physics there is not a single formula or law that Tesla discovered.
This photo is often passed off as a joint photograph of Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla. In fact, Tesla and Einstein never met. Tesla was also 23 years older than Einstein and 15 centimeters taller than what is not visible in the photo. The man to the right of Einstein is most likely the American engineer John Carson.
Tesla has made many claims that he has developed his own theory of gravity based on the theory of the ether and is about to present it to the scientific community. But despite the fact that the years passed, the statements were repeated, Tesla never published anything. All of his arguments against the theory of relativity were more philosophical than scientific.
This is why the argument that Nikola Tesla did not recognize the theory of relativity does not cause much sentiment among modern physicists. Well, he did not recognize it, so what? He is not the first, he is not the last who failed to master the mathematical apparatus necessary in order to understand it.
Experiments and observations are stubborn things. And they all confirm the theory of relativity, and so far no one has managed to stage an experiment that could shake the position of the theory of relativity.
The theory of relativity is not a sacred cow. It has its own problems, but the best theory describing gravitational interactions at the macrolevel simply does not exist at the moment.