Abstract
Originally, relativity in physics meant the abolition of absolute space. More particularly, it has come to mean either of Einstein’s famous two theories: his special relativity (SR) of 1905, and his general relativity (GR) of 1915. SR abolished absolute space in its Maxwellian role as the “ether “—the carrier of light waves and of electromagnetic fields in general—whereas GR abolished absolute space also in its Newtonian role as the standard of nonacceleration. (Even more importantly, though not by design, Einstein’s theories abolished the concept of absolute time; that we shall discuss in the next chapter.) Since these ideas are fundamental, we devote the first chapter to a brief discussion centered on the three questions: What is absolute space? Why should it be abolished? How can it be abolished?
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
H. Erlichson, Am. J. Phys. 41, 1068 (1973).
W. Rindler, Am. J. Phys. 38, 1111 (1970).
S. G. Brush, Isis, 58, 230 (1967).
In fact, it seems to have been Huyghens who recognized this principle as something deeper in mechanics than a mere property of Newton’s laws. See H. Stein, Texas Quarterly 10, 174 (1967), especially p. 183.
Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc. 113, 34 (1953); see also D. W. Sciama, The Unity of the Universe, New York, Doubleday and Co., Inc., 1959, especially Chapters 7–9.
But see C. W. Misner, K. S. Thorne, and J. A. Wheeler, Gravitation, W. H. Freeman and Co., 1973, §21.12.
See end of Section 8.12. This problem was investigated, on the basis of GR, by H. Thirring in Phys. Zeits. 19, 33 (1918);
H. Thirring .Phys. Zeits. 22, 29 (1921); and that of (b), above, by H. Thirring and J. Lense in Phys. Zeits. 19, 156 (1918). Effects somewhat like those conjectured were indeed found. On the basis of an earlier version of GR, Einstein had already found similar effects, and communicated them to Mach in a letter dated 1913. (See C. W. Misner et al., loc. cit.)
This conjecture was examined on the basis of GR by J. Ehlers and W. Rindler in Phys. Rev. D, 4, 3543 (1971). A magnetic field was found, though somewhat at variance with the Machian expectation.
L. I. Schiff, Phys. Rev. Lett., 1 (1958) 254.
Various recent observations (e.g. six years of lunar laser ranging) seem to speak directly against a significant variation of the constant of gravitation. Other data (e.g. very accurate light bending observations—see Section 1.21) increasingly favor GR as compared to the theory of Brans and Dicke.
See Section 8.3, paragraph containing Equation (8.45) et seq.
This, incidentally, provides a useful counterexample to those attempts that have been made, from time to time, to obtain the full GR bending of light from the EP alone. For another, and for references on this topic, see W. Rindler, Am. J. Phys. 36, 540 (1968).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1977 Wolfgang Rindler
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rindler, W. (1977). The Rise and Fall of Absolute Space. In: Essential Relativity. Text and Monographs in Physics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-86650-0_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-86650-0_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-10090-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-86650-0
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive