Category: Apocalyptic Science

• The "1919" Solar Eclipse "End of the World"

  This theory held that the total solar eclipse of 29 May 1919, which was used to test Einstein’s prediction about the bending of light by gravity, might coincide with catastrophic disruption of the natural order. In its more popular and alarmist forms, the theory suggested that if Einstein’s strange new view of gravity proved true, then gravity itself might be unstable, breakable, or subject to unknown cosmic effects. The fear belonged less to formal science than to a moment when eclipse panic traditions, sensational journalism, and public misunderstanding of relativity briefly overlapped.