
Contents
13 Field Theories of Gravitation: the First Fifty Years
Get access-
Published:August 2005
Cite
Abstract
It did not take Einstein long to realize that the collaboration with Grossmann [E1] had led to some conclusions that defeated the very task he had set himself. Let us briefly recapitulate the developments in his thinking about gravitation up to the spring of 1913. Late in 1907 he discovered the singular position of gravitation in the theory of relativity. He realized that the question was not how to incorporate gravitation into the special theory but rather how to use gravitation as a means of breaking away from the privileged position of covariance for uniform relative motion to covariance for general motion. In his Prague days, the analysis of the motion of light in an inhomogeneous gravitational field taught him that the light velocity depends on the gravitational potential and that therefore the framework of the special theory of relativity was too narrow [E2]. Toward the end of his stay in Prague, the technical concept of general covariance took shape in his mind and the fundamental role of the metric tensor as the carrier of gravitation became clear. The first steps toward the tensor theory of gravitation, taken with Grossmann, led him to conclude that the gravitational field equations can be covariant only with respect to linear transformations.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
May 2024 | 2 |
September 2024 | 2 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.