Reinventing Gravity: A Physicist Goes Beyond Einstein

Gravity has long been the problem child of physics, creating difficulties in finding a Theory of Everything. To complicate matters, most scientists believe that there is a mysterious, unidentified “dark matter” that makes up most of the universe, and that an equally baffling “dark energy” is pushing the universe apart. Moffat, an affiliate member of the cutting-edge Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada, has developed a new theory that he calls Modified Gravity (MOG). Moffat says that both Newton and Einstein were wrong, and that Newton’s gravitational constant is not constant across distances as large as galaxies and galaxy clusters. Scientists haven’t been able to find dark matter because it doesn’t exist: MOG values help account for rates of galaxy rotation. Perhaps more revolutionary is Moffat’s claim that black holes don’t exist either. His theory predicts a “grey star,” a massive object with many but not all of the properties of a black hole. Moffat’s theory thus far has withstood many objections. If MOG stands the test of time, Moffat will have created a paradigm shift not seen since Newton. Illus. (Oct.)