Einstein and Eddington

At the outbreak of World War I, Sir Oliver Lodge appoints Eddington as chief astronomer at Cambridge and tasks him with studying Einstein's work and defending Newton's status quo. He must navigate wartime politics while trying to keep science independent from national agendas. This sets the stage for a clash of ideas across continents.

Einstein is lured back from Zürich to the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin to help the war effort by challenging Britain's science and undermining Newton. He becomes embroiled in the national debate over science and loyalty, while his personal life becomes entangled with Elsa. The move places him at the center of wartime scientific prestige.

Eddington, a Quaker who cannot go to war, goes to bid farewell to his love William Marston as he goes off to war. He almost misses Marston's train, a small moment that foreshadows the personal costs of the conflict.

Eddington saves the Müller family from a violent anti-German mob and brings them into his home, choosing compassion over national suspicion. The act deepens his empathy for those on the other side of the war and complicates his wartime duties. It also underscores the cross-cultural ties that persist in science.

Einstein's wife arrives in Berlin and discovers his affair with Elsa, leading to the breakdown of their marriage and her departure. The personal collapse mirrors the strain felt by many scientists under wartime pressures. This personal dimension intersects with his scientific work.

Protesters attack Eddington for his conscientious objector stance, forcing him to defend his beliefs amid wartime hostility. He continues his astronomical research under pressure. The episode dramatizes the conflict between moral principle and wartime nationalism.

During a demonstration of Fritz Haber's poison gas, Einstein is revolted by its use in murder and refuses to renew his German citizenship or sign the Manifesto to the Civilized World. The moment marks a turning point in his relationship with the German war effort. He chooses personal integrity over national loyalty.

A British ban on circulation of German scientific literature obstructs Eddington's research, forcing him to improvise. He writes to Einstein despite the ban, seeking validation of Mercury's orbital precession. The blockade creates a personal bridge between the two scientists.

Einstein's relationship with Elsa deepens, and on receiving Eddington's letter he begins a new line of inquiry with Max Planck, offering solace to a grieving Planck over his son's death in the war. The collaboration between Einstein and Planck advances the relativity program. The personal bonds fuel scientific breakthroughs.

Einstein's work aligns with the observed precession of Mercury's orbit where Newtonian physics fails, and he sends this result back to Eddington via Planck. Planck serves as the conduit for sharing their theoretical advances with the British astronomer. This exchange helps him prepare for a dramatic test.

The chlorine gas attack at the Second Battle of Ypres kills Marston and many others, causing Eddington to question his faith while intensifying his resolve to oppose the expulsion of German scientists. The war's horror interrupts his personal faith and professional mission. He remains determined to defend scientific cross-communication.

As the war continues, Einstein completes his general relativity work and explains how starlight bends, transmitting the results to Eddington through Planck. The theoretical milestone consolidates the worldwide scientific effort behind relativity. The exchange helps bridge German science with British astronomy.

Realising he can experimentally prove space-time bending, Eddington decides to observe the 29 May 1919 solar eclipse from Príncipe and secures funding for the expedition with Dyson's help. The plan enlists international collaboration to test a bold theoretical claim. The expedition becomes a turning point in modern physics.

The expedition faces bad weather but ultimately returns with photographs that are compared to night-sky images; Eddington publicly demonstrates the bending of light by gravity, confirming Einstein's theory and restoring his own faith. The moment cements Einstein's general relativity in the public imagination. It also marks a personal vindication for Eddington.

In a closing coda, Einstein visits Cambridge and meets Eddington, binding the two scientists in mutual recognition of their legacies. The film ends by contrasting Einstein's rising fame with Eddington's enduring obscurity as a steward of fundamental ideas.