RE: [asa] Scientific Mysteries

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/General_relativity.html

"On 25 November Einstein <https://mail.uncw.edu/exchange/alexanian/Drafts/Mathematicians/Einstein.html> submitted his paper The field equations of gravitation which give the correct field equations for general relativity. The calculation of bending of light and the advance of Mercury's perihelion remained as he had calculated it one week earlier.

Five days before Einstein <https://mail.uncw.edu/exchange/alexanian/Drafts/Mathematicians/Einstein.html> submitted his 25 November paper Hilbert <https://mail.uncw.edu/exchange/alexanian/Drafts/Mathematicians/Hilbert.html> had submitted a paper The foundations of physics which also contained the correct field equations for gravitation. Hilbert <https://mail.uncw.edu/exchange/alexanian/Drafts/Mathematicians/Hilbert.html> 's paper contains some important contributions to relativity not found in Einstein <https://mail.uncw.edu/exchange/alexanian/Drafts/Mathematicians/Einstein.html> 's work. Hilbert <https://mail.uncw.edu/exchange/alexanian/Drafts/Mathematicians/Hilbert.html> applied the variational principle to gravitation and attributed one of the main theorem's concerning identities that arise to Emmy Noether <https://mail.uncw.edu/exchange/alexanian/Drafts/Mathematicians/Noether_Emmy.html> who was in Göttingen in 1915. No proof of the theorem is given. Hilbert <https://m!
 ail.uncw.edu/exchange/alexanian/Drafts/Mathematicians/Hilbert.html> 's paper contains the hope that his work will lead to the unification of gravitation and electromagnetism."

________________________________

From: George Murphy [mailto:GMURPHY10@neo.rr.com]
Sent: Fri 6/13/2008 9:33 AM
To: Alexanian, Moorad; George Cooper; asa@calvin.edu
Subject: Re: [asa] Scientific Mysteries

I'm not sure of the temporal priorities but doubt that Hilbert would have been pursuing the appropriate line of thought if it hadn't been for Einstein's work.
 
Pauli's note on this in his well known book is interesting. "At the same time as Einstein, and independently, Hilbert, formulated the generally covariant field equations. ... His presentation, though, would not seem to be acceptable to physicists, for two reasons. First, the existence of a variational principle is assumed as an axiom. Secondly, of more importance, the field equations are not derived for an arbitrary system of matter, but are specifically based on Mie's theory of matter." Most theorists today I think would be a bit baffled by the 1st criticism.
 
BTW, this all helps to show the absurdity of the statement that "only six men in the world understand Einstein," not just today but at the time it was made ~1919. You can just go through the references in Pauli's book & find names of over a dozen people who had published on general relativity by then. (Someone once asked Eddington if it was true that only 3 people in the world undertood relativity & he said - jokingly - "Who is the third?")
 
Shalom
George
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/

        ----- Original Message -----
        From: Alexanian, Moorad <mailto:alexanian@uncw.edu>
        To: George Murphy <mailto:GMURPHY10@neo.rr.com> ; George Cooper <mailto:georgecooper@sbcglobal.net> ; asa@calvin.edu
        Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 11:42 AM
        Subject: RE: [asa] Scientific Mysteries

        What was the contribution of David Hilbert to general relativity? I read where Einstein was consulting Hilbert on what Hilbert was doing and, in fact, Hilbert published the equations of general relativity before Einstein did.

        Moorad

        From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu] On Behalf Of George Murphy
        Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 11:26 AM
        To: George Cooper; asa@calvin.edu
        Subject: Re: [asa] Scientific Mysteries

        "Gravitation is just the universe trying to straighten itself out" (E. Whittaker).

        (Something of an inside joke. The gravitational Lagrangian in Einstein's theory to be used in the principle of stationary action [sometimes inaccurately called "least action"] is the curvature scalar of space-time.)

        Shalom
        George
        http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/

                ----- Original Message -----

                From: George Cooper <mailto:georgecooper@sbcglobal.net>

                To: asa@calvin.edu

                Sent: Wednesday, June 11, 2008 10:53 AM

                Subject: RE: [asa] Scientific Mysteries

                Oh, I almost forgot...

                Gravity, what is it?

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Received on Fri Jun 13 09:47:46 2008