is one of the great physics boondoggles of all time. A lot of effort by a lot
of smart people has gone into to it, with nothing to show for it.
This announcement shows the latest failure for the theorists:
ESA’s Integral gamma-ray observatory has provided results that will dramatically affect the search for physics beyond Einstein. It has shown that any underlying quantum ‘graininess’ of space must be at much smaller scales than previously predicted.Here is the abstract and full paper.
Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity describes the properties of gravity and assumes that space is a smooth, continuous fabric. Yet quantum theory suggests that space should be grainy at the smallest scales, like sand on a beach.
One of the great concerns of modern physics is to marry these two concepts into a single theory of quantum gravity. ...
“This is a very important result in fundamental physics and will rule out some string theories and quantum loop gravity theories,” says Dr Laurent.
This experiment proves Lorentz covariance to very high precision. The concept was discovered by Poincare, based on ideas from Lorentz. Einstein had nothing to do with it, and did not even understand what Poincare had done.
The idea that space should be grainy is not supported quantum mechanics, relativity, or any experimental evidence.
The most famous experiment showing Lorentz covariance is the 1887 Michelson–Morley experiment. It persuaded FitzGerald, Lorentz, Poincare, and eventually everyone else, as explained in the recently-translated 1910 Laue paper, Is the Michelson Experiment Conclusive?. Most historians say that Einstein did not appreciate this experiment when he wrote his famous 1905 paper on Lorentz's relativity theory. Einstein was describing the theory without necessarily understanding how it came about. This is explained in my book.
Update: Wired mag says that the new data shows that Universe Almost Certainly Not a Hologram.