Einstein and the Cosmological Constant

• When Einstein first formulated his equations of General Relativity, he believed in a static Universe (or steady state Universe)

• Since the equations seemed to predict an unstable universe that would either expand or contract, he “fixed” his equations by inserting a “Cosmological Constant” called 

• When Hubble later found that the Universe was expanding, Einstein called the creation of the Cosmological Constant his “greatest blunder”