Einstein introduced the constant in 1917. to counterbalance the effect of gravity and achieve a static universe, which was then assumed. Einstein's cosmological constant was abandoned after Edwin Hubble confirmed that the universe was expanding. From the 1930s until the late 1990s, most physicists agreed with Einstein's choice of setting the cosmological constant to zero. That changed with the discovery in 1998 that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, implying that the cosmological constant may have a positive value.
Einstein introduced the constant in 1917. to counterbalance the effect of gravity and achieve a static universe which was then assumed. Eins,tein's cosmological constant was abandoned after Edwin Hubble confirmed that the universe was expanding. From the 1930s until the late 1990s, most physicists agreed with Einstein's choice of setting the cosmological constant to zero. That changed with the discovery in 1998 that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, implying that the cosmological constant may have a positive value.