Lot 14
Lot 14
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer....
 Read more
The origins of special relativity in the ‘ether question’

Albert Einstein. 19 June 1919

Price Realised GBP 22,500
Estimate
GBP 10,000 - GBP 15,000
Estimates do not reflect the final hammer price and do not include buyer's premium, any applicable taxes or artist's resale right. Please see the Conditions of Sale for full details.
Loading details
Register
Share
The origins of special relativity in the ‘ether question’

Albert Einstein. 19 June 1919

Price Realised GBP 22,500
Register
Price Realised GBP 22,500
Register
Details
Albert Einstein (1879-1955).

Autograph letter signed (‘A. Einstein‘) to Professor Georg Lockemann, n.p., 19 June 1919.

In German. One page, 274 x 222mm (general uneven browning caused by old mount). Provenance: by descent from Georg Lockemann.

The origins of special relativity in the ether question. Einstein suggests that the current state of the ‘ether question’ can best be understood if one considers it historically. Before Maxwell, it was an ‘all-pervading inert substance’, with its ‘transverse waves’ manifesting themselves as light. Then Maxwell and his circle ‘made long and unsuccessful attempts at a mechanical interpretation of Maxwell’s electromagnetic equations. Under the pressure of this failure, people were accustomed to consider electromagnetic fields as states of the ether, whilst refraining from a mechanical analysis of these states. Then came the question about the state of motion of the ether relative to matter; the special theory of relativity is based on the recognition that there can be no question of such a state of motion … In the circumstances, it seems much better to drop the whole concept and speak more now of electromagnetic and gravitational fields, but not interpreting them as states of something else’.

Apparently unpublished: not in the Collected Papers. Georg Lockemann (1871-1959) was head of the chemistry department at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin from 1907 until his retirement in 1945.



Special notice
Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.
Brought to you by
A Christie's specialist may contact you to discuss this lot or to notify you if the condition changes prior to the sale.
View condition report
More from
On the Shoulders of Giants: A Brief History of Big Ideas
Place your bid
Condition report

A Christie's specialist may contact you to discuss this lot or to notify you if the condition changes prior to the sale.

View Condition Report