The hunt for Vulcan : how Albert Einstein destroyed a planet and deciphered the universe /

Includes bibliographical references and index.

In 1859, the brilliant scientist Urbain LeVerrier discovered that the planet Mercury has a wobble, that its orbit shifts over time. His explanation was that there had to be an unseen planet circling even closer to the sun, which he named Vulcan. Supported by the theories of Sir Isaac Newton, the finest astronomers of their generation began to seek out Vulcan and at least a dozen reports of discovery were filed. There was only one problem. Vulcan does not exist - and was never there. The real explanation was only revealed when a young Albert Einstein came up with a theory of gravity that also happened to prove Mercury's orbit could indeed be explained - not by Newton's theories but by Einstein's own theory of general relativity, as this scientific detective tale recounts.