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A misunderstanding in Soldner’s interpretation of the gravitational deflection of light

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Lettera Matematica

Abstract

In 1921, taking advantage of the uproar over the confirmation of the gravitational displacement of star images detected during the 1919 solar eclipse, Philipp Lenard published a memoir by Johann Soldner from 1801 in the Annalen der Physik, attributing this original discovery to him, in the attempt to deny priority to Einstein. Lenard’s reasoning was based on the fact that the value obtained by Einstein in 1911 is effectively the same as Soldner’s. The present discussion explains how the equivalence of the two results is merely the result of an interpretation of the values.

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  1. Accademia Nazionale Virgiliana, Via Accademia 47, Mantova, Italy

    Ledo Stefanini

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  1. Ledo Stefanini
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Correspondence to Ledo Stefanini.

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Stefanini, L. A misunderstanding in Soldner’s interpretation of the gravitational deflection of light. Lett Mat Int 4, 167–172 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40329-016-0150-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40329-016-0150-4

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