Who does not know or has listened to Albert Einstein, one of the most brilliant scientists of the 20th century, who is best known for his contributions to the understanding of gravity. Specifically for his theory of relativity, formulated within the framework of classical physics and presented in two parts: special relativity and general relativity. However, Einstein had many more revolutionary contributions: three publications in 1905 about the Brownian movement, the equivalence of mass and energy, and the explanation of the photoelectric effect; the last thing that won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.
It was a century ago when Einstein, beyond what was already established by Newton, explained gravity as the effect of massive bodies to distort space-time (three coordinates x-y-z plus time t). One consequence of this idea is that when accelerating objects should produce a series of waves, called gravitational waves, that distort spacetime. This prediction of Einstein had never been confirmed directly, not until last February 11, 2016 when the gravitational observatory LIGO ("Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational" in English) detected the waves in space-time produced by the collision of two black holes .
Yes, the collision of two black holes! In other words, not only do we confirm the existence of gravitational waves, predicted by the theory of general relativity, but also direct evidence of the existence of black holes was obtained for the first time. Until now we only had circumstantial evidence through astronomical observations of stars and super heated gas orbiting a black hole quickly-which made us think that its existence was taken for granted-but now we have even greater certainty.
The confirmation of gravitational waves will help us to attack other questions such as: How fast does the universe expand? What makes the stars explode? Do gravitational waves travel at the speed of light ?, among others. So to confirm or discard certain ideas that we consider facts, we can address other questions to further enrich our knowledge-nothing is written on stone. However, a more relevant or important question is, perhaps, in these times it is possible that any scientist or scientist could perform the feat that Einstein achieved in his so-called "miraculous year" (1905) where he made several of his most important contributions in science.
Usually, the most productive time of the scientific career is the first years; as for example is also the case of Stephen Hawking. However, today, this is the most limited and tense time. Today more than ever, young scientists need to publish a lot and quickly, to apply for funds and obtain a titular position (stable work), to justify the "impact" of their work, and to open a niche for themselves, often in a highly specialized area. There is a rare opportunity to sit at a desk and reflect on the big questions, how young Einstein did it.
A century ago, general relativity did not have an "obvious" impact, although the GPS system of our "smartphones" today depends on it. Relativity did not even have a clear practical goal, except for the intellectual one. If Einstein's project would have required an application of funds as it is today, it would surely be rejected. It is not clear that there is a space for Einsteins in modern science any longer. So, sadly, many of us will have to say goodbye to the academic path and use our knowledge to continue science from a different perspective to innovate. Our childhood dreams will raise sail to continue as scientists in different directions.
