THEORY OF RELATIVITY 261
ether."[52]
Poincare,
in La science
et l'hypothese,
raised the
question
of
the existence
of
the
ether,
even
if
he offered
no
clear
answer.[53] Ostwald,
in his
Lehrbuch der
allgemeinen
Chemie,
suggested
that the ether
hypothesis
could be
replaced by a purely energetic
treat-
ment
of
radiation.[54]
Few
contemporary
documents throw
any light on
Einstein's
work
on electrodynamics
between
1902
and
1905.
On 22
January 1903,
he wrote Michele Besso:
"In
the
near
future
I
want to deal with molecular forces
in
gases,
and then make
a comprehensive study
of
electron
theory"
("In
der nächsten Zeit will ich mich mit den Molekularkräften
in
Gasen
abgeben,
und dann umfassende Studien
in
Elektronentheorie
machen").[55]
On
5
December
1903,
Einstein
gave a
talk to the Naturforschende Gesellschaft Bern
on
"The
Theory
of
Electro-
magnetic
Waves" ("die Theorie der
elektromagnetischen
Wellen").[56]
By
the time Ein-
stein wrote his friend Conrad Habicht
early
in 1905,
the
theory was practically complete:
The
...
paper
exists
only as a
sketch and
is
an electrodynamics
of
moving
bodies that utilizes
a
modification
of
the
theory
of
space
and time.
Die
...
Arbeit
liegt
erst im
Konzept
vor
und ist eine
Elektrodynamik
bewegter
Körper
unter
Benützung
einer
Modifikation der Lehre
von
Raum und
Zeit.[57]
Later
statements
by
Einstein
suggest
several
important
elements in the
development
of
his ideas
on relativity
before Einstein 1905r
(Doc.
23)
was
written that
are
not
recorded
in
any
known
contemporary
documents.
In 1932
he
gave a general
characterization of "the
situation that led to
setting up
the
theory
of
special
relativity"
("die
Situation, die
zur
Aufstellung
der
speziellen
Relativitätstheorie
geführt
hat"):
Mechanically
all inertial
systems are equivalent.
In accordance with
experience,
this
equivalence
also extends to
optics
and
electrodynamics. However,
it did not
appear
that this
equivalence
could be attained in the
theory
of
the latter.
I
soon
reached the conviction that this had its basis
in
a deep incompleteness
of
the
theoretical
system.
The desire to discover and
overcome
this
generated a
state
of
psychic
tension
in
me
that,
after
seven years
of
vain
searching, was
resolved
by relativizing
the
concepts
of
time and
length.
[52]
See Mill
1872,
vol.
2,
pp.
12,
20
(see
So-
lovine
1956,
p.
viii,
for evidence that Einstein
read
Mill).
Mill also noted several
phenomena
which
appear
to
favor the emission
theory
(ibid.,
p.
23).
[53]
See
Poincare
1902,
pp.
199-202. For
a
reference
to
the evidence about when Einstein
read this
book,
see
note 13.
[54]
See
Ostwald
1893,
part
I,
pp.
1014-1016.
For evidence that Einstein read
Ostwald's
Lehr-
buch,
see
Einstein to Wilhelm
Ostwald, 19
March
1901 (Vol.
1,
Doc.
92),
and Einstein to
Mileva
Maric, 10
April
1901 (Vol.
1,
Doc.
97).
[55] By
"Elektronentheorie," Einstein
pre-
sumably
here
meant
Lorentz's "Elektronentheo-
rie
der
Elektrodynamik"
(Abraham 1903,
p.
105).
There is also
an
"Elektronentheorie
der
Metalle," in which Einstein had
earlier
shown
great
interest
(see
Vol.
1,
the
editorial
note,
"Einstein
on
Thermal,
Electrical,
and
Radiation
Phenomena,"
pp.
236-237).
[56]
See the
Minutes
of
the
Society
for that date
in
SzBe,
and
printed
in
Verhandlungen 1904,
p.
328.
[57]
Einstein
to Conrad
Habicht, 18 May-8
June 1905.
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