Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1161396 | Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part B: Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics | 2008 | 27 Pages |
Abstract
On his way to General Relativity, Einstein gave several arguments as to why a special-relativistic theory of gravity based on a massless scalar field could be ruled out merely on grounds of theoretical considerations. We re-investigate his two main arguments, which relate to energy conservation and some form of the principle of the universality of free fall. We find such a theory-based a priori abandonment not to be justified. Rather, the theory seems formally perfectly viable, though in clear contradiction with (later) experiments.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Physics and Astronomy
Physics and Astronomy (General)
Authors
Domenico Giulini,