Abstract
In 1953, the publication of the second edition of Whittaker’s book entitled History of the Theories of Ether and Electricity sparked off a heated controversy over the authorship of the special theory of relativity. Since then, many scientists and historians of science have sought to prove that either Poincaré or Einstein was the sole author of this theory. After summarizing the main results presented in this book, i.e. that Poincaré’s contributions predate Einstein’s paper and are identical, we will be finally able to answer this question: Why didn’t Poincaré claim the authorship of the special theory of relativity? and then we will put a definitive end to this long-running controversy.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Einstein, A. (1921). L’éther et la théorie de la relativité (Ether and the Theory of Relativity). Paris, Gauthier-Villars: Traduction française par Maurice Solovine.
Einstein, A. (1935). “Elementary Derivation of the Equivalence of Mass and Energy,” Bulletin (New Series) of the American Mathematical Society, 37(1), 39-44.
Frank, P. (1947). Einstein: His Life and Times, New York. A. A: Knopf.
Goldberg, S. (1970). Poincaré’s Silence and Einstein’s Relativity: The Role of Theory and Experiment in Poincaré’s Physics. The British Journal for the History of Science, 5(1), 73–84.
Kaufmann, W. (1905). “Über die Konstitution des Elektrons,” (On the Constitution of the Electron) Sitzungsberichte der Königlich Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 45, pp. 949-956, 30 November 1905.
Keswani, G. H. (1964). Origin and concept of relativity (I). British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 15(60), 286–306.
Langevin, P. (1913). Henri Poincaré, le physicien. Revue de métaphysique et de morale, numéro, 5, 675–718.
Michelmore, P. (1962). Einstein profile of the man, New York, Dood, Mead & C\(^o\).
Miller, A.I. (1973). A Study of Henri Poincaré’s “Sur la Dynamique de l’Électron”. In: Frontiers of Physics: 1900-1911. Birkhäuser Boston.
Miller, A.I. (1980). “On some other approaches to electrodynamics in 1905,” in Harry Woolf (ed.), Some strangeness in the proportion: A centennial symposium to celebrate the achievements of Albert Einstein, Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 66-93.
Miller, A. I. (1981). Albert Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity: Emergence (1905) and Early Interpretation (1905–1911). Massachusetts, Addison Wesley: Reading.
Pais, A. (1982). Subtle Is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein. Oxford University Press.
Planck, M. (1906). “Die Kaufmannschen Messungen der Ablenkbarkeit der \(\beta \)-Strahlen in ihrer Bedeutung für die Dynamik der Elektronen," (The Measurements of Kaufmann on the Deflectability of \(\beta \)-Rays in their Importance for the Dynamics of the Electrons). Physikalische Zeitschrift, 7, 753–761.
Planck, M. (1907). “Nachtrag zu der Besprechung der Kaufmannschen Ablenkungsmessungen," (Addendum to the discussion of Kaufmann’s deflection measurements). Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft, 9(14), 301–305.
Poincaré, H. (1900). “La théorie de Lorentz et le principe de réaction," Recueil de travaux offerts par les auteurs à H. A. Lorentz à l’occasion du 25e anniversaire de son doctorat le 11 décembre 1900. Archives néerlandaises des sciences exactes et naturelles, 5, 252–278.
Poincaré, H. (1902). 1902. Flammarion, Paris: La Science et l’Hypothèse.
Rouse Ball, W. W. (1908). A Short Account of the History of Mathematics, 4\(^{th}\) edition, Macmillan And Co., Limited St. Martin’s Street, London.
Rosenthal-Schneider, I. (2013). Begegnungen mit Einstein, von Laue und Planck: Realität und wissenschaftliche Wahrheit (Encounters with Einstein, von Laue and Planck: Reality and scientific truth), Springer-Verlag.
Whittaker, E. (1953). A History of the Theories of Æther and Electricity: The Modern Theories 1900–1926. Sons Ltd, London Edinburgh Paris Melbourne Toronto and New York, 1953, 40.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ginoux, JM. (2024). Conclusion. In: Poincaré, Einstein and the Discovery of Special Relativity. History of Physics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51387-9_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-51387-9_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-51386-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-51387-9
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)