Quote of the Week

July’s quotes are all from a name most people have heard of. Albert Einstein was the most prominent physicist of the twentieth century. his contributions to science dramatically changed how humans interact with our world. He was a deep thinker, engaging his brain cells not only matters of science, but on metaphysics as well.

“Concerning matter, we have been all wrong. What we have called matter is energy, whose vibration has been so lowered as to be perceptible to the senses. Matter is spirit reduced to point of visibility. There is no matter.”

Einstein is famous for his equation on matter and energy, E=mc². His equation opened the door for all sorts of technological advances from nuclear power to the inner workings of stars. At its simplest, the equation states that matter and energy are the same thing as long as matter is traveling at the speed of light squared.

It wasn’t until late in his career that our friend Albert came to the conclusion that there is no matter––everything is energy. What we call matter is energy vibrating at a slow enough rate to become visible to the human senses.

Did Albert really say this? Given other quotes of his concerning matter and energy, it’s possible, but I was unable to definitively verify. His famous equation basically says the same thing, doesn’t it? If matter’s vibration is sped up to the speed of light squared, it becomes pure energy. If energy’s vibration is slowed down it becomes tangible matter. Sounds as if matter and energy are two sides of the same coin.