406 DOC.
398 NOVEMBER
1917
all finer
processes
to electrical
oscillations,
because
the
Maxwell
equations
are
flexible
enough
to be
adapted to
all sorts of
processes
for which
conventional
me-
chanics
is
inadequate.
I
have
a
new
premonition, though.
In
a
few
years
one
will
say: Light
and electrical
waves are
propagated
with the
velocity
of
gravitation,
the
dielectric constant
will
be derived from
the
energy
tensor
of
matter,
and
a
new
theory
of
electromagnetism
will
be created in which it
is
not
the
process
of
induction, perhaps,
which forms
the
underlying phenomenon
but
electrification
through
friction.
Maybe
a
covariant six tensor
will
be found
that
explains
the
occurrence
of
electricity
and results
easily
from
the
guv’s
rather than
being
taken
over as a foreign
element.
5)
An idea which
admittedly stems
only
in
part
from
me
and has arisen
from discussions in which
I attempted
to
acquaint
an
average engineer
with
your
ideas: You limit
yourself
to
the mathematical
development
of
the
theory.
For
the
purpose
of
disseminating
the
new
views
on
gravitation
more
broadly,
a
graphic
interpretation
would be of
great
use,
though.
On
discussing
Michelson’s
experi-
ment,
this
engineer
countered
that the
negative
result seemed obvious
to
him,
as
the
light
ether
surely
moves
along
with
it. After
resisting
a
long time,
pointing
to Fizeau’s water
experiment
as
well
as
the
difficulty
encountered when
the
light
source
and the
observer
move
in
opposite
directions relative
to
each
other
so
that
the
poor
ether
does not know with which of
the
two it
ought
to
go,
I
did
warm
to
this
view,
and
now
in
anticipation of
your
esteemed
reply
would like to state
the
following hypothesis:
“The field
equations
of
gravitation
are
to
be
interpreted
as:
differential
equa-
tions of the motion of
the
ether.”
(Instead
of ether,
one
could
also
say space.)
The ether
is
the medium
of
the
gravitational field
and
of gravitational
waves,
its
state
at
one
place
is
described
by
the
guv's.
To start
with,
I
would also
like
to
burden the
same
with
the
light
phenomena
as
well
as
with
radiating heat,
and
finally, preferably
also with
the
electromagnetic
field.
My occupation
unfortunately just allows
me
to
devote
a
few
hours of leisure
to
these matters
and
I
therefore
can see no
other
way
than
turning
to
you personally,
for which I
would
like
to
beg your
pardon
again
herewith.
With
greatest respect,
Dr. Rudolf Förster,
Engineer.