Chinese professor ridiculed over attack on Einstein that was nominated for science award
- Li Zifeng, who claims to have ‘overthrown’ the theory of relativity, is in the running for an education department prize in Hebei
- Language he used in the research proposal harks back to the Cultural Revolution, when Einstein was a main target of criticism
A university professor who claims to have “overthrown” Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity has caused an uproar in China after his research proposal was nominated for a science award.
Li Zifeng, a professor of petroleum engineering at Yanshan University in Qinhuangdao, Hebei, had proposed a theoretical physics study that suggested philosophy, such as Marxism, should guide physics and be used to correct “mistakes” in the discipline.
It was one of 96 projects nominated for a natural science award by the Hebei provincial education department in early June.
“Scientific value [includes] overthrowing Einstein’s theory of relativity which has misled the physics discipline and humanity in the basic understanding of the world, and removing a huge obstacle to the healthy development of science,” said Li’s proposal, which has since been deleted from the education bureau’s website.
Proposed by Einstein in the early 1900s, the theory of relativity transformed physics and astronomy, and can be found in the workings of many technological innovations, such as the global positioning system used for navigation.
