Word: constantly
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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When Einstein developed his theory of general relativity in 1916, Kirshner says his initial equations showed that the universe was either expanding or contracting. But like most scientists of his time, Einstein believed the size of the universe was constant...
...correct this mistake, Einstein added a term to his equations that he called the "cosmological constant." This constant altered his equations to show that the universe would expand for a while and then stay relatively the same size...
...when Edwin P. Hubble discovered in 1929 that the universe was expanding, Einstein was deeply embarrassed. For the remainder of his life, he referred to the cosmological constant as his "greatest blunder...
Until now, scientists believed that the force of gravity would eventually slow this expansion. But the recent evidence suggests that Einstein's original cosmological constant--although inserted into his equations for the wrong reasons--might represent a real force present in the universe...
...What [the cosmological constant] means is something like negative pressure," Kirshner says. "For an ordinary gas, the thing expands as the pressure goes down. But in this, the pressure would stay constant as it expands...