132 DOCS.
122,
123
SEPTEMBER
1915
No.
3 by
Nico
Van
Suchtelens.[11] I shall
probably scarcely
be able to
bring
about
a
formal revocation of
the
notorious
manifesto,[12] even
though
the
realization is
forcing
its
way
through
that it
was a
quite
unfortunate
and ill-considered
step.[13]
I
think it
more
important
that
persons
of
good
will
unite in
things
of
genuine
im-
portance for
the
future.
It
is
not for revocation
that the
remorseful
are
primarily
known.-
Warmest
greetings, yours,
A.
Einstein
Please
kindly reciprocate
for
me
your
wife’s
greetings.
123. To Erwin
Freundlich
[Berlin,]
30 September [1915][1]
Dear
Freundlich,
I
shall be
glad
to
write
to Naumann,
as soon as
in
the
next
day
or so.
To-
morrow
morning
I
am
going
to
see
Planck,
with whom
I
shall also discuss
it.[2]
I
am writing
you
now
about
a
scientific
matter
that
electrifies
me
enormously.
For
I
have
come upon
a
logical
contradiction
of
a
quantitative
nature in
the the-
ory
of
gravitation,
which
proves
to
me
that there
must be
a
calculational
error
somewhere
within
my
framework.
Imagine
an
infinitely
slowly
rotating
coordinate
system
(rotation velocity
w).
In
this
one,
as
can
easily
be shown
by simple
transformation,
the
gravitational
field is given by
the
guv
system
-1
0
0
wy
0
-1
0
-wx
0
0
-1
0
wy -wx
0
1
Using
the
formulas,
I
can now
calculate
the
closest
approximation
(terms propor-
tional
to
w2)
and
find
from
the last
gravitational field
equation
g44 =
1
-
3/4w2(x2
+
y2),
while
the direct transformation
from the
Galilean
case
yields
g44 =
1
-w2(x2
+
y2).