Title

Einstein: ‘The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity’

Authors

Files

Description

A brief commentary prepared by Robert Brecha, PhD, Professor, Physics, on the following work:

Albert Einstein
Die Grundlage der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie (The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity)
1916; first edition; presentation issue

Comments

A major conceptual consequence of Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity is the intermingling of space and time as one unified geometric entity. Einstein postulated a new geometrical interpretation of spacetime; in contrast to Isaac Newton, for whom gravitational motions are due to the properties of the massive bodies, general relativity tells us that what we interpret as gravitational forces are really due to curvatures of a spacetime manifold. Though Einstein’s thought experiments were revolutionary, they were a bit too strange for mainstream science; he won a Nobel Prize for his work on the photoelectric effect—not for relativity.

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Streaming Media

Contents of Streaming Media

Robert Brecha, professor of physics, describes Albert Einstein's motives for examining gravity and the development of his general theory of relativity.