Alternative Theories
There have been various attempts to find modifications to general relativity. The most famous of these are the Brans-Dicke theory (also known as scalar-tensor theory), and Rosen's bimetric theory. Both of these theories proposed changes to the field equations of general relativity, and both suffer from these changes permitting the presence of bipolar gravitational radiation. As a result, Rosen's original theory has been refuted by observations of binary pulsars. As for Brans-Dicke (which has a tunable parameter ω such that ω = ∞ is the same as general relativity), the amount by which it can differ from general relativity has been severely constrained by these observations.
In addition, general relativity is inconsistent with quantum mechanics, the physical theory that describes the wave-particle duality of matter, and quantum mechanics does not currently describe gravitational attraction at relevant (microscopic) scales. There is a great deal of speculation in the physics community as to the modifications that might be needed to both general relativity and quantum mechanics in order to unite them consistently. The speculative theory that unites general relativity and quantum mechanics is usually called quantum gravity, prominent examples of which include String Theory and Loop Quantum Gravity.
Read more about this topic: History Of General Relativity
Famous quotes containing the words alternative and/or theories:
“If you have abandoned one faith, do not abandon all faith. There is always an alternative to the faith we lose. Or is it the same faith under another mask?”
—Graham Greene (1904–1991)
“In the course of a life devoted less to living than to reading, I have verified many times that literary intentions and theories are nothing more than stimuli and that the final work usually ignores or even contradicts them.”
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)