Zur affinen Feldtheorie. Weil 132*. Offprint from S. preuss. Akad. Wiss.
Publisher Information: 1923.
Einstein, Albert (1879-1955). Zur affinen Feldtheorie. Offprint from Sitzungsberichte der preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 17 (1923). 137-140pp. 256 x 185 mm. Original printed wrappers. Fine.
First Edition, Offprint Issue. In 1923 Einstein published four short papers (of which "Zur affinen Feldtheorie" is the third) on Eddington's attempt at a unified field theory, marking the beginning of a scientific passion that would dominate the remainder of his career. In 1921 British physicist Arthur Eddington had proposed a unified field theory inspired by the work of Hermann Weyl. "Einstein's own initial reaction was that Eddington had created a beautiful framework without content. Nevertheless, he began to examine what would be made of these ideas and finally decided that 'I must absolutely publish since Eddington's idea must be thought through to the end.' That was what he wrote to Weyl. Three days later, he wrote to him again about unified field theories: 'Above stands the marble smile of implacable Nature which has endowed us more with longing than with intellectual capacity.' Thus, romantically, began Einstein's adventures with general connections, adventures that were to continue until his final hours" (Pais, Subtle is the Lord, p. 343). This paper is included on Shields's list of Einstein's most significant papers; see Albert Einstein, Philosopher-Scientist (1949), p. 758. Shields 175. Weil 132*.
Book Id: 37407Price: $750.00