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4 months ago in Astrophysics By Hema

Did newton doom us and einstein save us?

I read somewhere that Newton's law of gravity predicts the solar system will eventually collapse, but Einstein's theory somehow prevents that. Is this true?

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By Cyrine bouabid Answered 1 month ago

No, this is a confused take. The Sun's fate becoming a red giant, then a white dwarf is determined by nuclear physics and gravity, and both Newton and Einstein agree on the broad outcome. Einstein didn't "fix" gravity to save us; he provided a more accurate description of it. The Sun will still expand, Earth will still become uninhabitable, and neither theorist's equations offer a cheat code. Our salvation isn't in the math; it's in whether we become a multi-planetary species before the deadline.

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