INTRODUCTION TO VOLUME
8
xlvii
had
been
one among
several
new
theories
of
gravitation.
Over the
next
two
years,
the
“Entwurf”
theory clearly emerged as
the most
promising
of
these
new theories,
in
part
no
doubt
because of
the
reputation
of
its
creator. With the
explanation
of
the
anomalous
advance
of
the
perihelion
of
Mercury
and the formulation
of
generally
covariant field
equations
in November
1915,[17]
the
full-fledged general theory
of
relativity totally eclipsed
the earlier rivals.
Nordstrom,
whose
gravitational theory
had
been the
only one
besides
the
“Entwurf”
theory
to be discussed
in
any
detail
in
Einstein’s Vienna
lecture,
turned his attention to
general relativity
in 1916. A
year
later,
even
Gustav
Mie,
one
of
the “Entwurf”
theory’s
harshest
critics,
abandoned
his
own theory
and started
working
on
Einstein’s
(Doc. 346).
As Einstein’s
theory rose
to
prominence,
the number
of
correspondents
with
whom Einstein
discussed
the
theory
increased. Until the
summer
of
1915,
Tullio
Levi-Civita
was
the
only correspondent
outside the inner circle
of
Einstein’s scien-
tific confidants
(Besso,
Freundlich,
the
Leyden group
around
Ehrenfest
and
Lorentz)
to
engage
in
discussion of
the
“Entwurf”
theory.
Levi-Civita
put
his
finger
on some
serious flaws
in Einstein
1914o
(Vol.
6,
Doc.
9), a
paper
intended
to
be the
definitive
exposition
of
the
theory.[18]
Einstein
stubbornly
defended his work and
the
correspondence eventually
broke
off
without
a
clear resolution.
In the
summer
of
1915,
Einstein
gained
a
new
audience for his
theory through
his well-received Wolfskehl lectures in
Göttingen.[19]
He
subsequently corre-
sponded
with several
Göttingen
mathematicians,
starting
with Paul
Hertz
and Hil-
bert. Two letters
from Einstein
to Hertz
(Docs.
108 and
111) suggest
that
the latter
showed
an unreceptive
Einstein
a way
out
of
the
“hole
argument” against generally
covariant field
equations.
It
is
in
Einstein’s
correspondence
with
Hilbert
during
November 1915
that
we
can
follow the final twists and
turns
of
Einstein’s
tortuous
path
to
general
covari-
ance.
As
their
correspondence intensified,
Einstein
became resentful
of
what he
called
“nostrification”
of
his earlier
work
by
Hilbert.[20]
In view of
this,
it
may
not
be
a
coincidence that he
gave
the most
detailed account
of
the
unraveling
of
the
“Entwurf”
theory
and the
developments
of November
1915
in
a
letter
to
Arnold
Sommerfeld
(Doc.
153),
who had discussed the
theory
with both Einstein and
Hil-
bert.[21]
Einstein
may
have written to Sommerfeld in
part
to
lay
claim
to the
new
theory as
his exclusive intellectual
property. Clearly referring
to
Hilbert,
he
empha-
sized that the
problem
had
not
been to find
generally
covariant field
equations
but
to show that these
equations are physically
acceptable.[22]
Shortly
afterwards,
Einstein
wrote
Hilbert
a conciliatory
letter
(Doc. 167)
and the matter
appears
to
have been
forgotten.
The
explanation
of
the
Mercury anomaly
also forced astronomers to take notice
of
general relativity.
Given Freundlich’s difficulties with the
astronomy
establish-
Previous Page Next Page