[1306.4902] Einstein, the reality of space, and the action-reaction principle

[1306.4902] Einstein, the reality of space, and the action-reaction principle:

Einstein, the reality of space, and the action-reaction principle

Harvey R. Brown, Dennis Lehmkuhl

(Submitted on 20 Jun 2013)

Einstein regarded as one of the triumphs of his 1915 theory of gravity --- the general theory of relativity --- that it vindicated the action--reaction principle, while Newtonian mechanics as well as his 1905 special theory of relativity supposedly violated it. In this paper we examine why Einstein came to emphasise this position several years after the development of general relativity. Several key considerations are relevant to the story: the connection Einstein originally saw between Mach's analysis of inertia and both the equivalence principle and the principle of general covariance, the waning of Mach's influence owing to de Sitter's 1917 results, and Einstein's detailed correspondence with Moritz Schlick in 1920.

Comments:	To appear in "The Nature of Reality", P. Ghose (ed.), Oxford University Press
Subjects:	History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph); General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology (gr-qc)
Cite as:	arXiv:1306.4902 [physics.hist-ph]
	(or arXiv:1306.4902v1 [physics.hist-ph] for this version)

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